Everyone's Secret
by emodinosaurX3
Summary: Derek Souza's not the only werewolf he will live to know, and he'll soon find that meeting this other werewolf will change his life forever.
1. Prologue, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Okay, I know, I know; I am starting _waaaaay_ too many fanfics. But I'm super hooked on the _Darkest Powers_ series and I've been forming this story in my mind for a while. And I just HAD to write something about Derek. I LOVE him. Seriously, I want to marry him. xD Okay, that's a bit extreme, but whatever. (Don't worry, Jagger, I'm still in love with you too. ^-^) Anyway, read and review, please, and I hope you enjoy! Another chapter of _Plastic Promises_ is coming soon. I actually think I'm going to write it right after I post this. (Oh, and by the way, this takes place pre-_The Summoning_, as in, before Chloe comes to Lyle House.) Thanks and enjoy!

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**Prologue.**

Ralluber Ranch is anything but that: a ranch. It was quiet and isolated, but the large land was dry and dead. There was no possible way anything could grow on the wide patch of dirt ever again. The stables were empty of any horses and cows, and they always had been. Down the dirt road was a small ranch house, the white paint peeling in rolls and wood bitten into by termites.

The ranch wasn't desolate, and it held many horrors that were very alive and fresh.

A young girl the age of sixteen stumbled into the combined dining room and kitchen area, not catching her fall as she collided into the small wooden table, snapping its feeble legs and crashing to the ground. The full moon's light shined through the dirty windows, illuminating the scene.

Behind the girl stomped a large burly man with black untamed hair and a full beard of stubble. His heavy boots made the dust from the floorboards rise with each step. His beady black eyes glared icily at the girl on the ground, and his large hands curled into fists.

"Now you're destroying the furniture! Fiona, you better get your ass up from the ground and do as I say!" he roared, looming over the girl. She glared bright green eyes just as icy back at him.

"Stop calling me Fiona! I'm not my mother! You better back the hell up if you know what's good for you," she spat, crawling away. The table broke into pieces underneath her palms. She stood and clenched her own fists. The man snarled.

"Damn it, Fiona. If you don't get over here in the count of three, you're going to be really sorry," he growled threateningly.

"My name is Mary! Stop …"

"One …" he began to count.

"… calling …"

"Two …"

"… me …"

"_Three!" _

"… _Fiona!"_

The man bolted for the girl, teeth bared and lips pulled into a nasty sneer. He uncurled his fist, flashing long claws, and swiped them across the girl's face. His nails caught her cheek but the girl ignored the pain searing through her face. She ducked another swipe from the man and bolted out behind him, running for the back door.

He'd been drinking again, and, for someone like him, that wasn't good. Ever since Fiona had died, his drinking habits had gotten worst and he'd been releasing his rages out on Mary. He just couldn't blame himself for anything he'd done. That, or he couldn't admit it. He refused to face Fiona's death, especially because he was the one who'd killed her. Unfortunately Mary was practically the spitting image of her mother, which drove the man insane.

She didn't have to turn around to know he was hot on her heels. He reached out for her shoulder, Mary feeling his sweaty, calloused hand grasping it, and pulled her back. She flew back a few feet and collided with the fading floral wall, wallpaper only found in a ranch house.

She moaned quietly before dodging another attack and throwing a punch of her own. Her fist made contact with his jaw and he stumbled back. She punched him again, this time in the nose, a quiet crack sounding. The man roared with pain, clutching his nose.

"Fiona … you … _bitch_," he muttered. Mary glared and kneed him in the groin and pushed him to the ground. There the man stayed for a while, moaning in pain.

Mary stole a glance from the antique mirror on the wall. She was a very beautiful girl with emerald gems for eyes and long, glossy, black hair that fell down her back. She was of short stature, but her body was fully developed, maybe a little more than developed. Her chest was large and her hips were wide, and she had even hit puberty at a very young age. She remembered getting her first period when she was nine years old and how her mother almost freaked out, since she knew it was much too early for her daughter to be going through puberty. Little did she know that her daughter wasn't an average girl.

Mary stared at the gash on her face and gently touched around it. It stung and bled, blood running down her neck and soaking the neck of her white shirt.

Many would wonder how on Earth a small girl like Mary could take down a large fully grown man. The two of them knew the answer to that.

"M-mary …" moaned the man, spitting out blood onto the floor. He staggered as he tried to stand, grasping the nearby wall for support. Mary backed away from him, her fingers curled.

"Finally got my name right, huh? You still better back away," she warned. He stood and faced her, squaring his shoulders and ignoring the blood pouring from his broken nose.

"We don't need to do this," he said.

"I'm leaving. I'm sick of this. You killed Mom because she found out, and now you're a mess. I don't want to live with this anymore," she said, slowly backing away. Each step she took, though, the man took another one forward.

"You ain't going nowhere, Mary," he snarled.

"Try me."

The man stumbled forward, reaching for her again, but Mary moved out of his reach. She pushed him down and he stayed there. The booze was swimming in his brain, draining all ounce of sense he had.

She stood over him, glowering. "You're hopeless. What a pitiful excuse for a father," she murmured acidly.

"You won't last," Mary's father chuckled humorlessly, flashing his bloody teeth. "The others will eat you alive."

She rolled her eyes. "As if. If I need to do any killing, I'll succeed. After all, I learned from the best." Disgust spread across her face as she looked at him. She backed away and ran to fetch her running-away bag.

"Mary!" shouted her father, helplessly. Mary ignored him and darted out the backdoor. _"Mary!"_

She was gone.


	2. Chapter O1, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Well, school's started, which means I won't be updating as much anymore, not that I've been doing it frequently lately, but I'm just letting you know that it will be even longer until I get something up. Won't keep you by reading this author's note, so enjoy the chapter and please review! I know I promised a _Plastic Promises_ chapter, and it is in progress right now, so just hang tight, alright? [:

* * *

**Chapter O1.**

Derek pillaged the pantry in hope for something that would satisfy his large appetite, but all he could find were boxes of oatmeal, bags of dried vegetable chips, and cans of soup. He had already been here four months—he should have known better than to find something that wasn't nutritious here at the group home. But his monstrous appetite craved for something that would last until dinner time. As he pushed away some oatmeal boxes, he found what he was looking for, a smile almost appearing his acne-dotted face. He pulled out an open box of graham crackers and pulled out an unopened sleeve. He suddenly turned around to see a much shorter boy with blonde hair worn in spikes. He wore a smirk as he caught Derek red-handed.

"Heard me? Or did you smell me?" asked Simon, Derek's younger foster brother. Derek's serious eyes met with Simon's playful brown ones.

"Both," Derek replied, opening the sleeve. Simon reached for one and Derek watched with slight worry. "Uh … you sure you should be—"

"Relax, bro. I'm not going to pass out from one graham cracker," chuckled Simon. Simon had diabetes and Derek tend to be overprotective of it. With their dad missing, Simon was the only person Derek had left close to him. He refused to imagine what would happen if his diabetes got out of control.

"So you must have smelled the new girl," Simon continued, his voice dropping. Derek's thick eyebrows narrowed and he nodded.

"She probably smelled me too," he replied. Simon's eyes widened.

"What? You don't mean—" Derek nodded.

"She's a werewolf too."

"You're kidding," Simon gasped. "You getting territorial vibes?"

"Nah. It doesn't really seem like she wants to be here," Derek said. He stuffed the sleeve of graham crackers into the pocket of his sweatpants and walked out of the kitchen slowly, Simon on his heels. There were a couple of familiar scents around her: two of the nurses who ran Lyle House.

The boys rounded the wall and snuck out behind the staircase, Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop crowding the view of the new girl.

"She's really pretty," Simon whispered. "But maybe I should let you have a go, since you two have so much in common." The last bit Simon whispered in a teasing way, and Derek rolled his eyes. As if he cared. He didn't like thinking about girls. Not really his thing. If Simon thought she was pretty, then _he_ could chase after her himself. Unless Brady thought the same ….

Finally, Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop moved out of the way and Derek got a clear view of the new girl. Well, Simon wasn't kidding about her being pretty. She was small, well, more like _short_. There was nothing small about her chest and her hips. Simon quietly whistled and Derek shot him a dirty look. She was dressed in a plain white v-neck blouse and a pair of short cut-offs. Her hair was long and black, and she had the brightest green eyes that would definitely glow in the dark.

Like Derek had said, she looked uncomfortable with her surroundings. Suddenly, he noticed a twitch of her nose and he realized she'd caught a whiff of him. Her eyes immediately averted to his direction, locking gazes with his own. Her eyebrows slowly rose with surprise.

"Let's go," Derek muttered and dragged Simon away from the staircase and into the small living room. They nestled in the old-fashioned couch. Derek snuck a couple of graham crackers out of his pocket and Simon reached for another one as well.

"So, she was pretty, wasn't she?" he asked, munching on the graham cracker.

"I've never met another werewolf, well, other than those pups from the lab," Derek grunted. His eyebrows were narrowed and his face was set in his usual stern expression as he stared out in front of him, reminiscing on the old memories.

"Maybe you can ask her questions about the whole werewolf thing," Simon suggested. Derek truthfully liked the idea, but he didn't show it. Asking someone his own age questions of their species? Kind of embarrassing, wasn't it? And how did he know she was an expert on werewolves anyway? He ignored Simon's suggestion and stuffed his second graham cracker into his mouth.

Just as he swallowed his graham cracker, Mrs. Talbot, Miss Van Dop, and the new girl walked into the room. The nurses were giving her a tour and Derek wondered why she didn't have a guardian with her. Usually the patients had family come to go through the tour with them and reassure them that they were going to like it here, like they were being dropped off at a new school.

The new girl widened her eyes again when she spotted Derek, then narrowed her eyebrows, as if concentrating on him. He shifted in his seat. Mrs. Talbot beamed at the boys just as she was about to open her mouth and introduce the room.

"Boys!" She clapped her hands together, producing a wide, grandmotherly smile. "We have a new addition to our family," she said. She gently pushed the new girl out in front of her by the shoulders, Miss Van Dop giving the two boys her usual hawk-like stare. "Mary, this is Simon and Derek. They're brothers. Boys, meet Mary."

Mary's concentrated face twisted with puzzlement as she looked from Derek to Simon, trying to figure out how this big, dark-haired white kid could possibly be related to the smaller, blonde-haired Korean boy.

"We're stepbrothers," Simon explained, as if he'd read the girl's mind. He stood from the couch and extended his hand. "I'm Simon. That's Derek. You should probably get to know him. I'm sure you have lots in common with him."

Derek shielded his face with the palm of his hand, looking away, embarrassed. Mary stared at Simon, taken aback as he just grinned playfully at her. Mrs. Talbot giggled.

"What a splendid idea, Simon. I'll leave you here, Mary, and perhaps Simon and Derek could show you the rest of the home." Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop nodded their goodbyes to the kids and left the room.

The three were quiet, Derek still hunkered in his seat while Simon and Mary stood facing each other. It was Mary who broke the silence.

"Well, this is awkward. So, you know what I am," she said, crossing her arms and looking up at Simon. She stole a brief glance from Derek as well.

Simon chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "'Course. I've got one of my own." He jerked his head back at Derek. Derek narrowed his eyebrows and stood, joining Simon's side. Mary had to tilt her head back to see his face. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she fully realized his size.

"Not here," Derek grunted in Simon's ear. "And not now, either." Mary narrowed her eyebrows and, taking one last glance at her, Derek passed the both of them and sulked back to his room.

"Sorry. He gets like that," Simon said, stuffing his hands into jeans pockets. Mary scoffed and tightened her arms across her chest.

"I would know."

"Right."

* * *

Derek passed Brady on his way to his room, not muttering a word, as usual. It was Brady who stopped him in the hall.

"Hey, Derek. Have you met that new girl?" he asked, a smirk spreading on his face. Derek's bored expression didn't change. "She's hella hot. You should check her out. But, back off; I call dibs. Although," He popped his collar and smirked again, "I don't think she'll look for anyone else now that she's met me. And, I don't think she'll look twice at you, pal." He laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Derek looked at him, his eyebrows ever so slightly narrowing. He shrugged Brady's hand off violently and continued to his room.

Brady was the only other patient at Lyle House. He'd come a couple of months after Simon and Derek had arrived. Derek had never really clicked with him, but then again, Derek never really clicked with anyone. It was Simon who was outgoing and friendly. Derek was almost the opposite.

Derek secluded himself in his bedroom, laying on his bed, counting the cracks on the slanting wood ceiling. He could still smell Mary's scent. It was odd and completely different than the average human. He figured it was because she was another werewolf, but didn't it make more sense to have a more comforting scent, since it was so familiar to his own?

Questions began to fill his brain about the lycanthropy. How much did she know about werewolves? Had she gone through the Change? If she had, could she answer questions he had about it? Like, was it as bad as he thought it was? Being a werewolf meant being half human and half wolf, and Derek struggled to maintain that human half, so it only made sense to resist the Change. Maybe Simon was right. Maybe he should talk to Mary about werewolf things. After all, he's never had anyone to really talk to about it, no one with experience. This was his chance. A chance to really know about himself. He was just too afraid to take it.


	3. Chapter O2, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Taking me forever to write. Still working on _Plastic Promises_, chapter seven. Sorry for the delay. And sorry if this ending is a bit duddish; I didn't know how to end it. d: Review, please, and enjoy! [:

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**Chapter O2.**

Sitting at the dining table in the kitchen while Mrs. Talbot drabbled on about being a popular girl in high school, Mary twiddled her thumbs together, remembering how she even ended up here. She also pondered what the doctor—what was his name? Davidoff?—had said about genetically modified supernaturals with the other doctors in the facility. After Mary had run away from her father, she'd run into a man who'd immediately taken notice to what she was. He treated her to a dinner at Denny's and then talked to her about hr powers and even other supernaturals. He had brought her to this lab where she stayed a couple of nights and then convinced her to stay here in this group home for a while, since she had no where to go. Mary didn't like the idea of being in a group home. Group homes were for crazy people, and she certainly wasn't crazy. If anybody needed to be in a group home, it was D. Jay, her father. However, Mary agreed, just as long as she wasn't sent back to her dad's and her dad wasn't away of her whereabouts in case he was chasing after her.

She was pulled from her thoughts when a presence appeared into the room, his arrogant scent filling her nostrils. Mary's eyes flickered his way as he plopped into the chair next to her, perching an elbow on the table and resting his head in his palm.

It was the dark-haired boy; not the werewolf, but the other one, the arrogant jock star. He was the first one to meet her, flashing such a egotistic smile that really annoyed her. She knew right off the bat that the two of them would not be friends, at least in her eyes.

"Hey Mary," he chimed, smirking. Mrs. Talbot turned neck to see him walking into the room.

"Brady. Perfect. Come and help me peel these potatoes, won't you?" she asked. He quietly groaned and opened his mouth to protest, but Mrs. Talbot beat him to it. "My poor hands aren't what they used to be. Mary, why don't you help him." Brady turned his head back towards Mary, shrugging one shoulder, but Mary kept her gaze locked on Mrs. Talbot. She didn't _want_ to peel potatoes. She actually wanted to go out and run, flex her muscles, which had become quite tight ever since she'd arrived at the group home.

Brady gave her a soft nudge with his shoulder and stood from the chair, jerking his head towards the kitchen where Mrs. Talbot left the bag of potatoes and peelers at the sink. Mary watched Mrs. Talbot leave the room before reluctantly standing to join Brady's side. He pulled out another peeler from the drawer underneath the counter and handed it to her, along with her very own potato.

"So, how are you liking Lyle House?" he asked, as if instead of arriving at her first day in the group home, she was arriving at her first day at a new school. Mary rolled her eyes at him, arching an eyebrow. Brady chuckled. "Relax. I'm kidding. How exciting is it to live at a group home?" He sneered and rolled his eyes. "Hella lame."

"Uh-huh," Mary muttered, scraping the skin off of the potato so quickly. Brady rose an eyebrow with surprise as she snatched another potato and peeled off all the skin within seconds.

"Damn. Peel potatoes much?" he asked. Again, Mary rolled her eyes.

"I lived on a ranch. Rednecks like me know how to peel potatoes," she said. Of course, there was another reason, the _real_ reason. Her speed was accounted for her being a werewolf. Her agility came natural.

Still, Brady seemed satisfied with her answer. It was, after all, legitimate. Rednecks and potatoes mixed just like peanut butter and jelly. He chuckled and nodded with approval, returning to his own first potato. Mary reached for her fifth one.

"A ranch, huh? Have any cowboy boyfriends? You know, I can ride a horse," he said suavely, though his charms had no effect on Mary. If anything, his charms were repelling her from him. She mentally groaned and prayed to die on the spot.

"No cowboy boyfriends. I don't do cowboys. Do I look like a Texas girl? And I don't care if you can ride a horse. I don't do animals either. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I like them," she snapped. Brady looked taken aback.

"Whoa. No need to get all snippy," he said, which only made Mary glare at him. She scoffed and returned to her potato peeling, scraping the peeler against the skin with quicker and sharper strokes, peeling almost the entire bag of potatoes before Brady could reach for his fifth one.

She finished the last potato while Brady peeled his sixth one. The sink was stockpiled with soggy potato peels. Mary washed her hands and turned her back on the sink.

"I'll give you the honor of cleaning up, just to make it appear like you did something," she snarled. Brady glared at her.

"God, you and Derek would get along _perfectly_. You're both bitches!" Brady exclaimed. Mary could have wheeled on him and torn out his heart to eat, but she remained calm. She merely scoffed and walked out of the room.

* * *

The bedrooms were separated by gender. One side of the house was dedicated to the boys, and the other Mary got all to herself. Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop had showed Mary her room as soon as she'd arrived. It reminded her of her old room back home, which made her gut twist. The walls were yellow and white and painted with daisies, walls you would only find in a ranch home. There were a couple empty twin beds, both covered in white sheets and tucked neatly, as if nobody had ever used them. Both sides of the room mirrored each other: same bed, same dresser, same little desk. A small closet was installed near the door.

Mary had chosen the bed furthest from the door. She'd placed her suitcases on the bed, and then left to continue her tour with the nurses. Now that she was back in her room, she had the opportunity to unpack and get settled in. However, she wasn't sure if she was ready to do that yet, or ever.

Being here at Lyle House was a thousand times better than being back home on the ranch with D. Jay, she had to admit, but she still didn't feel comfortable here. She didn't like the group home, the people at the group home, and she hated that other werewolf stench. It tickled her nose to her annoyance, and yet wherever she was in the house, she could still smell him.

She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out her shower bag and extra clothes. Because of the lycanthropy, she was required to clean herself more than ordinary. She attained extreme body odor, broke out with acne incredibly, and acquired her period more times than the average teenage girl. Luckily, the showers and baths helped keep down her body odor, if she took about three showers a day and possessed miracle acne cream her father had found from a secret source that knew all about teenage werewolves. However, the periods and cramps couldn't be dealt with. Luckily, though, she'd grown used to them and managed to toughen them out.

She walked out of her room, possessions in her arms, and made her way towards the bathroom. She could smell the other werewolf very near, and then realized he was making his way towards the bathroom too.

Mary could tell that Derek had the same problems she did, but his seemed to be twice as bad, perhaps because he was a boy. His hair was dank and greasy, hanging over green eyes while his face was spotted with angry red zits. He was big and burly and could smell the sour odor coming from him. She pitied to the boy, yet completely empathized with his body problems.

Twice her size, Derek towered over her, eyeing the bathroom door, and then her with hesitation.

"You were going to use the shower too, I suppose," Mary stated slowly, eyeing his clothes and shower bag under one arm. Derek's eyes averted back to the door, jaw set.

"Yeah," he muttered lowly.

"Well, go on, then. I can wait," Mary said and quickly turned on her heel back to her room. She knew he needed the shower more than she did. A couple of minutes wouldn't harm her. She heard him trample into the bathroom, shutting the door.

While waiting for Derek to finish up in the bathroom, Mary stumbled back to her suitcase, gazing down at it and trying to muster up the will to just unpack and accept that this was where she was going to stay. She pulled out a couple of shirts, laying them out on the bed before going over to the closet to gather some hangers. Suddenly, she groaned and fell to her knees, burying her face in her arms.

The urge wasn't there. She hated it here. She wanted to be out in the wild. Here, she felt like a prisoner. There was no freedom in secured doors and windows. She hated the home, hated the nurses, hated that doctor for bringing her here, hated herself for _agreeing_ to come here, hated her father for killing her mother and making her life miserable ….

Her mother. Thinking about her made her heart slam against her chest. The memory of her parents fighting and screaming at each other, her mother frightened when finding out what her husband and daughter really were.

Fiona had been terrified of Mary. And D. Jay tried to convince her that what he did to her mother was the best thing for the both of them. Mary refused to believe that. When she'd seen her father walk back into their house without her mother, hands, face, and clothes stained with dirt and blood, she'd lost all respect for him, and began to fear him. That only made him angrier and so began the two of them fighting.

However, throughout the months of D. Jay's abuse, Mary grew stronger and fought back, gaining control of her werewolf power. His size and experience didn't matter anymore. After all, she'd learned from the best. Former Pack member, one of the strongest werewolves in Montana, D. Jay made the perfect tutor for her.

The water shutting off from the bathroom alerted Mary that Derek had finished. She blinked a couple of times before returning back to reality and leaving the realm of her memories. Shaking her head, she stood from the floor and gathered her things again, ditching the clothes on her bed. She planned on stuffing them back into her bag to make her believe that she wouldn't be staying long.


	4. Chapter O3, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Managed to get another chapter out. I think _Plastic Promises_ is going back on hiatus. I just can't figure out what to write next for it. Major writer's block with that story. /: Hopefully this story's not getting boring. I'm trying to pick up the pace; I know it's getting kind of slow. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. Review, please! Thank you. [:

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**Chapter O3.**

Derek's stomach churned as he walked out of the bathroom, drenched hair combed back and out of his face, and noticed Mary walking back out of her room, hurrying for the bathroom. He thought about what Simon had suggested, that he ask her questions. Still, he was a bit embarrassed. He was already sixteen and hadn't gone through the Change yet. Being genetically modified, he knew something had been tampered with his body, and figured it was one of the reasons why his body wasn't responding well to the Change. That, and he was trying to maintain his humanity. Sooner or later, though, he figured he'd just have to let everything go. It was the only solution. But Derek was scared.

His green eyes met her own, her strange scent filling his nostrils. He could sniff out her strong body odor as well. So she had the same challenges he did. However, he was sure she handled them differently. For one, her odor smelled no where near as dreadful as his. Sometimes he couldn't stand smelling himself and needed to take multiple showers in one day. Secondly, her face was practically clean of any acne, completely opposite of him. How in the world did she manage to control her skin and oiliness? And why was she so tiny? Weren't werewolves bigger? Sure, her body was very well-matured, but she only reached perhaps five foot.

Mary's eyes quickly shifted away and ducked into the bathroom, leaving Derek awkwardly in the hallway. He shook his head and shuffled back to his room to dispose of his shower bag and dirty laundry, then met Simon downstairs for a round of a racing game on the old Xbox.

"Hey bro. Had a nice shower?" Simon said with a grin. He tossed Derek an Xbox controller, and Derek joined him on the ground, sitting against the navy blue couch. Derek grunted a "Sure," and selected a racecar to compete with.

"So have you talked Mary yet?" Simon asked as they began racing, pressing the buttons feverishly, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth and eyebrows narrowed in concentration. Derek's face remained neutral, his fingers also gliding over the buttons, but he didn't appear as interested in the game as Simon did. Simon ended up winning anyway. He cheered.

"So you never answered my question, bro," Simon reminded. "Did you talk to Mary?"

"She can hear you," hissed Derek, his eyes averting towards the hallway. Behind the corner, Derek knew she was lingering there.

"Yes she can," Mary said, appearing with her arms crossed. Derek ducked his head and Simon blushed. She arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Nothing." Derek stood from the floor, putting his controller away and turning off the Xbox. "I don't want to talk to you." He walked out of the room, leaving the two of them.

Derek met Brady in the dining room, waiting to be served for dinner. He was reading a sports magazine, and briefly looked up when Derek entered the room.

"Where's your girlfriend?" he said snidely. Derek looked at him strangely.

"Mary?" he asked. "I thought you'd already called dibs." Brady rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well, turns out our personalities didn't quite click." Derek snorted.

"That's surprising," he said sarcastically. Brady scowled.

"Yeah, well, she's perfect for you; she's got an attitude."

"Wouldn't that make her perfect for you?"

Brady opened his mouth to spout some nasty names at him, but Mrs. Talbot entered the kitchen. Mary and Simon followed shortly after. Dinner was ready. The argument ended.

* * *

Something wrong was happening that night. Derek could smell sweat mixing with Mary's strange werewolf scent. Lots and lots of sweat. Curious, he tossed off his sheets, shooting a wary look towards Simon in the other bed. Anybody who knew Simon knew that the only way to tell if he was really sleeping was if he was snoring. He was. Derek searched for sweatpants to pull over his boxer shorts and a sweatshirt over his naked chest, then left his room to check on Mary.

He could already hear soft growling coming from her bedroom when he stepped into the hall. His blood ran cold. Was she in the middle of Changing? Should he barge in on her to help her? Did she need help?

Her growls transitioned into soft pained moans, which answered his question for him. She sounded like she needed help. As he stepped closer towards her door, he heard her gasp. She knew he was coming for her.

Derek hesitated when he arrived at her door. She'd gone silent. As he curled his fingers around the doorknob, Mary suddenly gasped, as if she had been holding her breath for hours. The sound rang through his ears like sirens and he swung the door open.

The moonlight poured into her yellow room, streaming on Mary's cringing body. She was growling again but not at him, though her wide green eyes flashed at him, her pupils dilated. Her fair skin had gone pale and her back occasionally arched. For a second, he was convinced he really had walked in on her going through the Change, but once his eyes flickered to where her hands were placed, his face burned with embarrassment.

They were placed on her abdomen, clenching the hems of her pajama shorts. He was confused. What was going on? Why was she in so much pain, if not for the Change?

Mary gasped again and Derek quickly shut the door, hurrying to her side. She turned to him, black hair pulled into a messy ponytail and spilled over her drenched pillow. Sweat outlined her body on the white sheets. The stench made his nose twitch.

"What's going on?" he whispered frantically. Mary's teeth were bared and the heels of her feet dug into the mattress. It appeared as if someone was pinning her down against her will and she was struggling to wriggle free.

"D-Derek," she choked. Her eyes were bloodshot and were piercing through his own eyes. He felt genuine worry for her, and he didn't even know what was going on.

"Mary, what's happening? Are you Changing?"

She choked out a humorless laugh, buying a dirty look from Derek.

"Not … Changing," she said in between heavy gasps. Her eyes suddenly closed shut and she bit her bottom lip. Derek could see tiny beads of blood rising from underneath her front teeth. He ditched the dirty look and returned to his concern expression. He once again peered down at her hands, cupping her abdomen. What else could be causing her so much pain?

Suddenly, one of her hands flew out and grasped his as her breathing became choppy. Derek's eyes widened and his gaze flew to her face, but Mary's eyes were still glued shut, her face tight with pain. The moans and growls continued to get louder and Derek found himself shushing her gently. Surprisingly, it helped her and she regained control of her breathing, however the grip on his hand tightened, her nails digging into his skin, cutting him. Derek wasn't worried about that, though. He focused on quieting her and helping her calm down.

Another hour passed with Mary in this pained state, and Derek still had no idea what was going on with her. Finally, though, her tossing and moaning slowed and quieted until she remained still. Her eyes opened halfway as she took long, deep breaths. She slowly turned Derek's way and he could see the makings of a small smile. A smile of relief. Derek was actually relieved to not see her in pain anymore.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. A steady breath and wider smile told him yes. And then, with her hand still gripped around his hand, though not as tight, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Mary walked into the dining room that next morning, showered and not as pale as she was last night. She hadn't returned to her fair color yet, but she didn't look so weary. Derek figured the shower must have helped her rejuvenate. He caught her eye, and then noticed her blush feverishly and look away.

Breakfast was already at the table, and Brady was picking out the honeydew in his fruit bowl. Simon was in the bathroom, testing his blood sugar before coming down. Derek had taken advantage of the bacon and eggs, stockpiling it on his plate. He knew Mrs. Talbot was only making this big breakfast because there was a new member at the group home. Meals like this were only for special occasions.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Brady teased, waving the honeydew he was about to dispose in her face. Mary glared at him before taking a seat across from him. Derek shyly looked away and focused on his bacon and eggs. He tore into his toast and shoveled eggs into his mouth, thinking about what had happened last night. He'd never seen anyone like that, not in pain like that. And yet, he still did not know what had gone on with her.

Simon entered the room a little while later and he beamed at Mary's plate.

"Wow, Mary! It's so awesome to meet a girl who isn't afraid to eat something," he chuckled. Derek's gaze averted to Mary's plate and he noticed that it contained a bit of everything. Her plate looked like it was for a grown man, rather than a small teenage girl. "Where do you put it?"

Mary shrugged. "Exercise." She scooped a forkful of hash browns into her mouth.

"Really?" Brady chimed, genuinely interested in the conversation now. "You like sports?"

"I said exercise, not sports," Mary corrected. "I run."

Derek remained neutral. Running was a common interest among werewolves. He would have been surprised if she didn't like to run. Still, it was nice to share something in common, other than their race.

"Cool. Derek likes to run," Simon said, taking a seat next to her and getting himself a plate. He began to pile it with fruit and added a couple of small scoops of scrambled eggs, even when Derek's gaze told him he disapproved.

Mary's eyes briefly glanced Derek's way when Simon mentioned his name, but then looked back down at her plate when he looked back at her.

"And, for the record, running _is_ a sport. Ever heard of track or cross-country?" Brady input. Mary ignored him, and Simon and Derek did the same. Brady rolled his eyes and scoffed.

Derek and Mary were put on clean duty after breakfast. Miss Van Dop monitored them for a few minutes before walking out of the kitchen. For a while, the two of them were quiet and didn't make any eye contact, but Derek was secretly dying to know what was wrong with her last night. Why was she sweating up a storm? Why was she cringing and moaning and tossing around in her bed? Why had she held his hand?

He finally asked her what had happened that night.

Mary stopped scrubbing the dish and let the water run. Derek had to reach over and turn it off for her. When he looked back down at her, he noticed her cheeks flushing bright red.

"That was embarrassing," she muttered finally, sighing.

"What was? Last night?" Mary nodded.

"It's a … well, girl thing …" she said carefully. Derek's eyebrows knitted together as an idea of what she was talking about entered his mind. Not really what he wanted to hear.

"I think I know what you're talking about," he grumbled and turned his head away from her, his own cheeks flushing. Well, that _was_ embarrassing. Derek had walked in on Mary going through her "womanly problems."

"Yeah." The word was stretched in many syllables. "Because of the lycanthropy, when _that_ time comes, it's a lot worse than when an average girl gets it. My cramps are extreme. It almost feels as if someone is stabbing me over and over again."

Derek's eyes widened. "Ouch," he said. Mary chuckled, and sighed again.

"Yeah. Ouch is right." They were quiet again. A few moments later, though, Mary spoke again, her words, for some reason, making Derek's stomach tighten.

"Thanks, Derek, for staying with me."


	5. Chapter O4, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ WOW. It has been a REALLY, REALLY long time since I've written ANYTHING. It's been so long that I only managed to squeeze out a lame chapter. /: I've really got to step up my game. LOL. Well, hopefully the chapter's okay. I've got to start writing again. I have so much stuff planned with both this story and _Plastic Promises_, and I really want you guys to read what I've got, but I've got to write it out first! Buuuh! Okie dokles, well, enjoy the chapter and review, please. (: Thanks bunchies! :D

* * *

**Chapter O4.**

For the next couple of weeks, Derek and Mary steered clear of each other, still highly embarrassed about what had happened the night Mary suffered through her painful cramping. It really wasn't something to be so incredibly embarrassed about, but considering they didn't exactly know the other sort of made it awkward, and Mary wanted to kick herself for holding Derek's hand.

But after those couple of weeks, they realized they couldn't keep avoiding each other, especially since they lived in the same house. And Mary was growing sick of hanging around Brady for company. She had sort of changed her behavior to try and click with him so that she'd have somebody to hang around, since Derek had Simon, but she realized that Brady was a poor choice, although he didn't seem to think that way and she had been afraid he'd think that she actually liked him.

The painful nights had stopped exactly a week from when they had started and Mary had made it clear that she didn't want Derek to come back and keep her company. She didn't want to feel awkward and embarrassed anymore, and Derek seemingly understood. The look on his face told her he didn't care whether she wanted him there or not, but Mary couldn't help but feel that hurt, unwanted vibe emitting from him. She tried to ignore it. She didn't want another problem added to her excruciating long list of problems stored in her mind.

Mary also realized that Derek's appearance was getting worse and worse. The puberty was eating him alive. The angry red zits had traversed all over his face and even down underneath his chin and on the sides of his neck. And, no matter how often he showered, his hair remained greasy and his body odor didn't seem to falter. She pitied him.

She walked out of her room after doing the homework that was assigned to her from Miss Wang, the children's tutor. She hated homework, but she hated having it stockpile and waiting for her to do it even more. Procrastination didn't work with her.

Mary had smelled Derek coming down the hall, and she was pretty sure she wasn't the only one. His body odor had gotten really bad. He hadn't even gone outside to play basketball with Simon yet and he already smelled like he had just come back from running in a triathlon. Cupped in her hand while walking out of her room was her miracle acne cream, the cream that did her skin wonders. She met him outside the bathroom, him peering down at her strangely.

"What's that?" he asked when she held the cream out for him.

"It's acne cream," she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

"It won't work. I've tried every cream out there. Nothing works." He grasped the doorknob to the bathroom door, ready to walk inside.

"No," she said suddenly, looking up at him finally. "It's … different. I guarantee you haven't used this cream before. My dad got it specifically because of what I am. It's for people like us," she explained.

Derek turned back to her, his eyebrows knitted together and clearly taking interest into the acne cream container. Mary urged him to take it and he did. After that, she quickly left him, leaving that awkward tension between them again.

It was a start to regaining the neutral vibe between them. When Mary came back upstairs, she noticed the bathroom door open and spotted Derek applying the acne cream. Something inside made her stomach flip and she felt an involuntary smile spread across her face.

Derek noticed her in the mirror and immediately looked away, embarrassed. He cleared his throat and stumbled among some words to find an excuse to applying the cream, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

"Um … I, uh, just thought I'd try this, um, out. See if it actually worked, like you said," he stammered. Mary smirked and folded her arms over her chest.

"Trust me, it does," she assured, and then waved a hand in front of her face for display. "This flawless skin used to be a crater zone. I'd breakout badly, especially during _that_ time of the month. If it worked for me, it'll work for you too."

Derek half-smiled. "Thanks, then. I'll just leave it in your room when I'm done with it," he said. She waved him off.

"Keep it. I've got a couple other containers. Besides, you're going to need it," she said and walked away. She hadn't even walked three steps when Derek had poked his head out of the bathroom and called out to her.

"Mary," he said. "I've, uh, been thinking about this for a while and I actually have something to ask of you." Mary turned around, curious. She cocked her head and knitted her eyebrows.

"'Bout what?"

Derek's voice dropped to a whisper. "About the lycanthropy. I have some, um, questions for you. Just wondering if you could answer them," he admitted, dropping his gaze to her feet. In addition to her torn jeans and loose t-shirt combination, she sported old sneakers, the rubber on the sides peeling off and the fabric long faded. Derek had come to realize that Mary really was a ranch girl.

Mary's arms crossed and she arched an eyebrow. "As I recall a couple of weeks ago, you made it clear to me that you didn't want to talk to me about anything," she said. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well, I was lying."

"No …" Mary exasperated sarcastically, which made Derek's eyes narrow to a glare.

"Look, I really don't _want_ to be asking these questions. They're embarrassing, but I don't really have a choice. And since you're the only one I can ask them to, I'm really going to need you to be serious and _not_ sarcastic, all right?" he said firmly, almost raising his voice at her. Mary stared up at him, glaring back, but then suddenly smirked.

"All right, but only because I'm just so interested in what these embarrassing questions are. I'm surprised that big, tough Derek Souza can actually be embarrassed. Good to know," she snickered. Derek's glare didn't let up.

"You're one to talk. As I recall, it was _I_ who was sitting with you while you dealt with your _woman issues_ while _holding my hand_." Mary's snickering came to a halt after hearing this and returned to her glare.

"Keep it up and I won't help you at all with your embarrassing lycanthropy questions," she threatened. Derek scoffed.

"Whatever. Meet me outside by the tool shed after dinner. You should already know the alarm system code, right?"

"Of course. I'm a wolf, not a moron," replied Mary with an eye roll.

"Yeah. Good to know," Derek mumbled sarcastically as Mary turned to walk towards the stairs and he returning to the bathroom sink to finish applying the acne cream.

* * *

After their dinner of tuna sandwiches and carrots, Mary went upstairs to dress into her pajamas and wash up. Derek had changed his mind about meeting directly after dinner. Instead, they were rendezvousing after midnight, after Miss Van Dop had made the second round of bed checks.

Mary brushed her teeth and checked her face in the mirror. She could spot a couple of blemishes on her chin that would need some touching up from her miracle acne cream. Remembering that Derek had taken an interest to trying it out made her grin at her reflection. He would soon find that the cream was everything Mary had said it was. She ruffled her straight jet black hair from behind, fixed her white t-shirt and short navy blue sleep shorts, and then walked out of the door.

She hadn't even walked three steps when she sniffed out Brady's scent nearby. He rounded the corner and beamed at her, dressed in his own ensemble of a white wife beater and blue pajama pants.

"Hey, we're twins," he chuckled, pointing at the both of them. Mary strained a smile.

"Cool," she replied through her teeth.

"You wanna go downstairs and watch a movie with me? I'm bored out of my mind and I don't really find Miss Wang's homework that exciting to do at the moment. I'm thinking we could ask Mrs. Talbot about _Jurassic Park_. I can't believe we have to ask to watch _that_ movie when it's only PG. I used to be able to watch rated R movies when I was nine …" Brady ranted. Mary didn't even make the effort to pretend that she was listening. She stared over his shoulder, where her eyes met with Derek's. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his usual sweatpants, sporting a sweatshirt to match.

"You know, Brody, that sounds so great, but I've actually got to do something in my room. I'll see you in the morning," Mary interrupted, Brady's mouth still open from talking.

"It's _Brady_. You've been getting my name wrong a lot lately. You should already know it by now," he mentioned with narrowing eyebrows. Mary did her best not to roll her eyes and turned on her heel towards her bedroom.

"Right. Good night, Brandy," she called with a wave over her shoulder.

"It's _Brady_, dammit! Brandy's not even a _guy's_ name!"

When Mary returned to her room, she leaned against her door to make sure Brady had either gone back downstairs or to his room. Derek's scent lingered and she figured he was in the bathroom. She walked over to her bed, belly-flopped onto it, and pulled a magazine she had nicked from a grocery store before she'd come to Lyle House to read. She'd just barely opened the magazine when her door burst open, much to Mary's surprise. She jumped and nearly fell off of her bed, grasping the sheets with all of her might, tearing them slightly in the process.

"Jesus. Can't you knock?" she scolded as Derek closed the door behind him. "What if I was naked?"

"I didn't hear any rustling of clothing, just the opening of a magazine." Derek pointed his chin to the fallen magazine on the floor.

"Whatever. What do you want, puppy?" she asked, sitting up straight and letting go of her grasp.

"The talk …"

Mary groaned. "Can you make up your mind about a rendezvous time? Next thing I know, you're going to come back while I'm sleeping to change the date to next week."

"Not if we're going to talk right now," said Derek. "I've mentioned to Mrs. Talbot that you needed help with your math and she agreed to let me help you, but only until nine. She doesn't want me here for too long, for obvious reasons. So that gives us an hour to talk."

"You told her that _I_ needed help in math?"

"I'm taking college-level calculus. I highly doubt a high school pre-calculus student is going to help me with my math," said Derek. Mary arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Too bad I'm not the one receiving the help. What _embarrassing_ questions have you got, wolf boy? And make them juicy." Mary grinned mischievously. Derek glared, but took a seat on the empty bed.

"Don't call me that," he grumbled. Mary's eyebrow arched again.

"Why? It's what you are. Part wolf, part boy."

"It doesn't sound humane." Mary laughed.

"Um, news flash; you aren't human." Derek's body trembled and he was suddenly hovering over Mary's body, arms on either side of her body, pinning her down and caging her underneath his chest. He was glaring, baring his teeth at her. Mary showed no fear, however, only curiosity.

"_Don't ever say that to me … EVER!"_ he hissed menacingly, breathing heavily. A tiny twinge lifted the edges of Mary's lips, making a smug little grin.

"Sorry, my bad … I meant, you aren't _full_ human. You've got to accept the fact, Derek, or you'll be eaten alive by your denial," she said. Derek looked taken aback for a second, his anger dissolving into puzzlement. "Now can you get off of me before someone walks in on us and gets the wrong idea?"

Derek stood up straight and combed his dark hair out of his eyes, which flopped back into place anyway. He returned to his seat on Mary's spare bed and glued his eyes to the ground.

"Okay. So that we've got some sort of understanding here, I'll remember to not call you wolf boy and you'll try to learn to accept who you are. You are a wolf boy, but I'm not going to call you one, okay?" Mary said. Derek sighed heavily. "I'll take that as a, 'Yes, Mary.' Now, what's on your mind that's eating at your brain, _Derek_?"

Derek's green eyes left her floor and met with Mary's own green eyes. She could read the stress and worry in them, that glassy look of fear. He finally asked her what had been on his mind ever since she'd arrived.

"Have you gone through the Change?"


	6. Chapter O5, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Again, haven't been writing a lot lately. Been so busy with school and life, I just haven't had the time to write. My apologies. /: Hopefully this chapter makes up for it, if it's good. d: I'm always so modest when it comes to my stories. e_e LOL. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I'm trying to get more _Plastic Promises_ out because, thanks to a fellow writer and reader of my _Vampire Kisses_ fanfiction, I've hatched a Tripp/OC fic. :D Hooray! Never written a Tripp fanfic before. Should be fun, fun, fun. (: (Okay, if you don't read _Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives_, you _probably_ have no idea what I'm talking about, so just ignore that little bit up above, 'kay? Hahaha.) Sooo ... yuup. Enjoy the chapter and please review. Your reviews are much appreciated and I very much enjoy the things you have to say. C: You guys rock. ;D

_PS:_ Sorry if the length is too short. /: I'm really trying to get good stuff out on here. Bear with me.

* * *

**Chapter O5.**

Derek anticipated for her answer. His question had somewhat thrown her off as her eyebrows knitted together and surprise spread across her face. What had been so surprising about the question anyway? He prayed deep down that, when he should tell her that he himself hadn't gone through the Change yet (if she had), she wouldn't make fun of him for it. Embarrassment was the last thing he needed.

Finally, her surprise molded to a knowing grin. His gut twisted. She was going to tease him.

"I've gone through the Change. Sucked like hell the first time, but now it's completely refreshing. I love nothing more than being a wolf. I get to run and be free. No one can stop me from running away." He noticed the calm smile her grin had converted into as she closed her eyes and entered a state of peace. Derek found himself drawn to her in this state. Not that she was rude or dislikable when she wasn't like this, but he liked watching her enter her Zen. It even calmed himself.

She sighed heavily one last time before opening her eyes. And, as if she hadn't been meditating for the past few minutes, she asked, "Haven't you gone through the Change also?"

The question Derek had been dreading, and Mary had already asked it. Though he'd been preparing himself for it, he suddenly felt frozen and at a loss. He was beginning to think twice about telling her the truth, but then, why were they even discussing this?

"I, uh …" he began. He was losing his words as they fumbled about in his mouth.

"You haven't gone through the Change, have you?" she suddenly asked, concerned. Her green eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her overly-matured chest. Derek shook his head shamefully.

"No."

"So this is why you're asking me questions. You want to know about the Change." Surprisingly, her tone wasn't taunting. Instead, she sounded amused and understanding. Her lips twisted into a half-smile as she cocked her head, her long black hair falling over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Derek answered, daring to peek at her face.

"Well, what do you want to know? It doesn't hurt, going through the Change all the time. First time's the hardest. After that it's a breeze and, like I said, it becomes relaxing and freeing. It doesn't take long either. But, just so you should know, when you do Change into the wolf-state, you lose your clothes. As in, they rip off of you when your body shifts. You've got to be naked when you Change." Derek made a face. Mary rolled her eyes. "That's why you Change when no one is around. Should you need to be a wolf in a situation, arrive at the scene in wolf form. Simple as that."

His clothes would shred off if he Changed with them on? Derek thought that sucked, especially because he didn't have very many clothes to begin with.

"So … what if I want to Change back into a human? How would I get dressed?" he asked, shifting in his seat. Mary merely shrugged.

"Gotta dress where there are accessible clothes. Otherwise you're just going to have to plan on being naked until you find some. Unless you like walking around in the nude …"

"No." His answer came immediately and darkly. Mary chuckled.

"Right. Probably got a lot to hide underneath those sweatshirts, huh?" She pointed her chin to him, eyeing his grey sweatshirt. He could feel his cheeks warm and he knew he was blushing. He glared at her, but she returned it with a smirk.

"Can you tell me something about the Change that _doesn't _involve being naked?" he pleaded, annoyance dripping from his words. He was getting uncomfortable with that specific information. He understood what she said. She didn't need to taunt him with it.

Mary tapped her chin with a dainty finger and looked up at the ceiling, slightly tilting her head. "Well, I've already covered the freedom of the Change — once you get passed the first time — and the clothes bit … what else can I inform you of?" More silence.

Suddenly, they heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. Both of their ears perked up and they sat up, alarmed. Eyeing the other, Derek muttered, "The desk," and they scrambled to Mary's desk where a pile of books and loose leaf papers made home. Some magazines, a tub of miracle lotion, and some make-up accompanied Mary's schoolwork. Derek looked back at her with a scowl for her messy desk. She rolled her eyes and quickly piled everything together while he opened her math book.

"Paper," Derek demanded softly. The patter of the steps was getting louder. They were too soft to belong to either Miss Van Dop or Brady, so Derek figured they belonged to Mrs. Talbot.

Mary obeyed and grabbed a piece of paper from her new pile, searching for a pencil as well. She sat down on the chair, Derek on her bed, peering over her shoulder at her blank paper. She began to write down nonsense numbers and equations to appear as if they had indeed been working.

Suddenly, Mary's door opened and Mrs. Talbot was indeed standing behind it. Her elderly face was wearing a tight smile, but clearly expressed concern for the closed door. Derek felt like kicking himself. Why hadn't he thought to quickly open it before she came?

"How's the math coming along?" she asked the teenagers, walking inside. Mary and Derek looked over their shoulders.

"Pretty good," Mary replied calmly. "I think I'm starting to understand conics now." Mrs. Talbot's smile stretched.

"Good, good. Derek? I believe it's time to leave now," she said in turn to Derek sweetly. He knitted his eyebrows together.

"But it's only been twenty minutes," he informed. Her smile finally faltered.

"Derek, sweetie, it's time to go back to your room," she said, slightly more strict. He sighed. He knew better than to talk back. Besides, if he created an argument, he would get heated and perhaps get violent as well. He wasn't sure if Mary would be able to hold him back if he attacked Mrs. Talbot for making him mad, so he bowed his head, rose from Mary's bed, and left with the elderly woman.

"Mary says she's gotten the hang of her math now," she said once they were outside her room, escorting him to his own.

"She's too confident. She was actually making a lot of mistakes. I don't think she's gotten the hang of conics at all. She still needs my help," Derek insisted.

"Well, if she still needs your help, then you can tutor her tomorrow during homework time. For now, relax in your room. Maybe work on your own homework, dear," Mrs. Talbot suggested. Derek resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her and followed with her suggestion. When he was in his room, he closed the door behind him, and then met with Simon sketching out one of his comics.

"Hey bro," he said casually without looking up from his pad. Then, he dropped his pencil and looked up. "So, how was the talk? I was expecting you a lot later."

"Yeah, me too," grumbled Derek.

"What happened?"

"Talbot came in and insisted I come back. Apparently she didn't want us hanging out alone too long together," he said.

"Well, who can blame her? I don't think she'd be too thrilled to have a bunch of puppies running around the home," Simon joked. Derek narrowed his eyebrows and Simon cleared his throat, looking down at his drawing. "So, how'd it go?" he asked again. "Did you ask about the Change?"

"Yeah, I did," Derek replied, lying down on his bed, fixing his pillows behind his head.

"What'd she say?"

"Well, she told me she's already gone through the Change. That the first Change is the hardest," he started. Simon made a sympathetic face.

"That sucks."

"I know. She also told me that when you Change to a wolf, you've got to be naked so you don't destroy your clothes," he added. This time, Simon's eyebrows rose to his hairline and he suppressed a laugh.

"Well awesome. Hot wolf chick tells potential wolf mate that he's got to be naked in order to Change. Things can't get any better for you, bro," Simon joked.

"Your sarcasm is killing me," groaned Derek.

"Okay, okay. What else did she tell you? Any advice for when you do Change?"

"She did say that whenever she Changes into a wolf, she finds herself at peace, that running relaxes her even more in her wolf form." Derek reminded himself of the serene face she made while her eyes were closed, the small smile dancing on her full lips. Derek resisted the urge to smile himself, so as not to raise questions from Simon.

"Well, I'm sure that will benefit you. You like to run. Maybe you'll find peace running in wolf form as well," Simon said with a shrug.

Derek shrugged in return and didn't respond. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the slanted wooden ceiling. Then, unintentionally, he began to imagine himself in wolf form running alongside Mary's wolf form, completely in peace.


	7. Chapter O6, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Finally, finally, FINALLY have I got a chapter out. I'm getting in the mood to start writing again, so hopefully I'll get a lot of chapters done. Plus, I'm now on Thanksgiving break for a week, so that will give me plenty of time to get some chapters out. Okay well, hopefully this chapter will suffice for now. Enjoy and please review! Thanks. (:

* * *

**Chapter O6.**

Mary was rudely awakened the next morning by Mrs. Talbot's gentle shaking. She'd been having a peaceful dream about running in her other form, the wind slapping her face and flying through her thick black fur, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, and her paws beating against the earth. The last thing she'd wanted was to be taken away from that, but thanks to her personal alarm clock, she had been.

"Mary, sweetie, it's time to get up," the elderly woman whispered. Mary turned over onto her back and slowly tore open her eyelids. She met with Mrs. Talbot's smiling face, a grandmotherly essence illuminating her. Mary groaned and tore off her covers, sitting up. "Breakfast is ready. So get dressed and come on down, alright dear?" After that, she left Mary to her room.

There were many things Mary hated about Lyle House, but one of the main things she hated was not being able to sleep in. She wasn't going to school or to a job, so why did she have to wake up so early? She thought it ridiculous, but it was better than home with the abusive and annoying D. Jay, so she forced herself to deal with it.

Mary walked over to her closet, her footsteps muffled by the shag carpet. She rummaged through her few clothes and picked out a pair of small shorts and an old red t-shirt. She tied on her sneakers, brushed her hair briefly in front of the vanity mirror and tied it up into a ponytail, and then left for breakfast.

Mary was the last to arrive at the table. Even Simon was already feeding himself with a platter of fresh fruit and oatmeal. She met gazes with Derek, sitting next to an empty chair. She noticed him without his trademark sweatshirt. Instead, he sported a plain black t-shirt, witnessing his arms for the first time. And, Mary also realized his skin was really clearing up. She almost smiled at the sight of his almost acne-free face. She'd told him the miracle acne cream would work.

"There's sleeping beauty," Brady joked, stuffing a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. "No fair you get to sleep in and the rest of us guys don't."

"Sleep in? Sorry Brady, but six thirty is not sleeping in," Mary corrected. "Waking up at six thirty is a crime."

Simon laughed and nodded. "Then all of us should be behind bars. I woke up around five fifty. Needed to take my insulin," he said. Mary gave him a sympathetic look as she sat down next to Derek. Sitting next to each other, it was clear as day how much their heights contrasted. Mary's head didn't even reach his shoulder, making her appear as a fifth grader. If her body wasn't so well developed, she might as well have passed for one.

"So, no sweatshirt today, Derek?" she asked, nudging his bare arm as she reached for a bowl. Derek said nothing and instead stuffed his mouth with oatmeal. Mary sighed and filled her bowl. Not too much longer, Mrs. Talbot came into the room.

"Oh, good, Mary, you're up," she beamed, combing a loose strand of grey hair behind her ear.

"Unfortunately," she muttered under her breath. Mrs. Talbot missed her comment.

"Boys, Dr. Gill is coming today. She'll be here during Ms. Wang's teachings, so afterward she'll be calling each of you in for a quick meeting, alright?" Mrs. Talbot explained. The boys mumbled their responses and continued their meals. "Oh, and Simon? It's your turn to clean up breakfast."

"Alright. Do I get a buddy to help out?" he asked. She arched an eyebrow.

"It's only oatmeal. Not much to clean up, sweetheart. I'm pretty sure you can do that on your own," Mrs. Talbot said. Simon shrugged and said no more. Afterwards, Mrs. Talbot left the kids to their breakfast.

"Who's Dr. Gill?" asked Mary, popping an apple chunk into her mouth.

"Just some 'psychiatrist,'" Brady said with quotation marks. Mary looked at him curiously.

"Why the marks?" she asked, copying his hand movements.

"Because I don't really believe what she says. But it's not just her; all these doctors are kind of sketchy. It's probably just my trust issues," Brady answered with a shrug, not meeting her eyes. Mary studied him for a while before averting her gaze to the brothers.

"Well, what about you two? Do you think the same about Dr. Gill?"

"Pretty much," Simon responded.

"What does she say? I mean, _why_ don't you believe her?" Mary urged, lowering her voice. Her eyes involuntarily maneuvered up towards Derek's, and she noticed his eyebrows closely knitted together, almost creating a unibrow. He was in deep thought, and she wondered what he could be thinking about.

It wasn't until she noticed Derek's gazed directly locked on Brady that she realized that whatever Simon and Derek thought of Dr. Gill, he didn't want it said in front of Brady. However, that only raised the question as to _why_ they were keeping this from him. Sure, Derek and Brady weren't on the best terms, but perhaps Dr. Gill was a part of that.

"Dumb stuff," Brady answered, shrugging his shoulder. "If she calls you in, just don't believe anything she says. She's so full of it." Mary arched an eyebrow, but let the conversation fall. Nobody said anything afterwards until they'd finished breakfast. Mary, Derek, and Brady filed out of the dining room, leaving Simon to clean up the table, and walked upstairs to gather their school things for Ms. Wang's lessons.

"Hey, Mary," Brady called as they were about to take their separate ways. Mary stopped in her tracks, and Derek paused briefly, turning his neck back to Brady. "Sit with me in Ms. Wang's class?" Brady flashed a smirk.

"Sure," she said monotonously. Her eyes glanced over Brady's shoulder where she spotted Derek watching, but he quickly turned away and towards his room. Her eyes glanced back at Brady as his smirk grew into a wide, egotistic smile.

After Mary gathered her books, she walked towards Derek and Simon's room, peeking her head through the doorway. Derek didn't have to turn around to know she was there.

"Mary," he murmured, clearing his throat.

"There's something you're not telling me about Dr. Gill," she said quietly. "I want to know." Derek rolled his eyes.

"Of course you do."

"Hey. Who's giving you werewolf tips, hmm? Changing tips for the wolf boy who hasn't even_ gone_ through the Change."

Derek narrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. "I told you not to call me that!" he hissed. Mary glared.

"Then don't leave me out. I want to know what's going on," she said. Derek sighed.

"Alright. But don't bring this up in front of Brady. Simon and I aren't sure if he knows _why_ Dr. Gill's lying to us, as if Simon and I don't already know." Derek scoffed and Mary gave him a puzzled look. Derek shook his head. "I'll explain later. Come on, we have to get to class."

Derek walked passed her, his strangely familiar scent intoxicating her nose as he brushed her arm, and she fell into step behind him, shutting his door on her way out.

* * *

After Ms. Wang dismissed the four of them, Derek, Simon, and Mary left to the living room to do their homework. Brady was the first to be called in to Dr. Gill's office, so this gave the trio the perfect opportunity to discuss what was so wrong with Dr. Gill.

"Okay, so tell me now. Why don't you trust anything Dr. Gill says? And why don't you want to discuss this in front of Brady?" Mary asked quietly as she opened her math book. Simon and Derek mimicked her action. Simon looked back and forth, to check if anybody unwanted were listening, and then leaned in to the coffee table they sat at.

"Everybody here is lying to us, even though they know we're not normal," he whispered. Mary cocked her head to one side, her eyebrows knitting together.

"What do you mean? How are they lying?"

"Instead of telling us what we really are, they're labeling us with false mental disabilities. Well, they are for Derek and Brady. I don't have a file. I've never been in any trouble," he added with a smirk. Derek scowled at him.

"False disabilities? Why?" she asked.

"To convince us that we're actually mentally disabled," Derek muttered, head bowed and hunched over his paper. "They don't want us to discover what we really are, and then use our powers against them, so we're assuming."

"But … that's stupid. Don't they already know you know you're a …" Mary's voice dropped to the faintest whisper. "… werewolf?"

"I think they've got an idea, but they don't want to admit it. They just diagnose me as someone with violent rages, someone who should probably be in a straitjacket and padded room instead of a group home," he said.

Hearing this, Mary suddenly felt an empty pit form in her chest. Derek didn't have to explain these violent rages. She'd grown up with them, performing them herself, or watching her dad—even when sober—destroy furniture or other objects. It was all the lycanthropy, but of course they couldn't tell that to him, not if they wanted a logical explanation.

However, if they knew Derek was a werewolf, why would they want a logical explanation? If they wanted a logical explanation, why was Derek even here? Shouldn't he be in a lab, one very much like those Dr. Davidoff had showed Mary before bringing her to Lyle House?

Her eyebrows narrowed. Davidoff knew of Mary's lycanthropy too, and had even suggested she stay here at the group home, just for a little while. What were the odds of keeping two werewolves in the same facility?

"Are they collecting werewolves?" she suddenly asked, looking around.

"You're on the right track, but if they were collecting werewolves, I wouldn't be here," Simon said.

"So what are you doing here?" Mary asked.

"The doctors are collecting supernaturals," Derek whispered, interrupting Mary impatiently. "Simon's not a werewolf; he casts spells."

Mary's eyebrows rose to her hairline in shock. "Casts spells? Like a wizard?" Simon laughed.

"Sort of. We're called _sorcerers_. Female sorcerers are called witches, and it fits they're attitude as well," he added with a chuckle.

"Oh … that's right. I think I remember Dr. Davidoff mentioning something about that," Mary said.

"Dr. Davidoff? You've met him?" asked Simon.

"What did he say? When did you meet him?" Derek demanded.

"He found me on the streets after I ran away from my dad. He said he saw me in mid-Change, going from wolf to human. I'm hoping that perv didn't see me naked, though," she added with a snarl. Derek rolled his eyes.

"What did he tell you? He mentioned the races? Where did he take you?"

"Can you cool it with all of the questions? I already have to deal with all of that when you're asking me about the Change," Mary snapped. Derek glared, but held his tongue. "Anyway, he mentioned the races very briefly. I guess he didn't want to go too much into detail. He took me to a Denny's, treated me to dinner, and then mentioned something about a group … I think he called it the Edison Group, or something like that," she said. "He listed some supernaturals—as you guys call them—such as werewolves, witches—oh, and also demons and half-demons. He wouldn't tell me much more, even though I asked about a million questions, but instead took me to the Edison Group's lab. I stayed in this room that sort of looked like a hotel suite for a couple of days, and then he brought me here."

Derek and Simon exchanged glances and Mary looked at them, annoyed, as if they were sharing some sort of secret with each other. Once again, she felt left out.

"Do you guys know about the Edison Group?" she asked.

"No. We've never heard of it," Simon said, after a long pause.

"So, why don't you want to talk about this in front of Brady? If we're all supernaturals, shouldn't he be involved as well?" she asked.

"We don't know if Brady knows he's a supernatural or not. We know he is, according to his file, but even the doctors don't know what race he is. He does throw these annoying tantrums sometimes, but he's not a werewolf," Derek assured.

"Well, duh. We would know," Mary said.

"His person is just really mysterious … and annoying," Derek added, ignoring Mary's comment. Mary was about to open her mouth to ask what the doctors "diagnosed" him as when she sniffed his presence drawing near. She could hear his footsteps coming towards them and she shut her mouth. She looked back at Derek, who sent her a silent message with his eyes saying not to discuss this around him and she nodded.

Brady entered the room and his eyes lingered on the studying group. He snickered.

"Oh yuck. We're studying? Not fun. I think I'll play some Xbox for a while before starting on Wang's crap," he said and walked over to grab a controller. He dropped himself on the couch next to where Mary sat on the floor, perching his feet on the table next to her things. She glared at him and he grinned.

"Oh, and by the way, Mary, Dr. Gill wants to see you," he said. Mary's heart raced. She was going to be diagnosed. Had Dr. Davidoff already told her about Mary's lycanthropy? Were they going to create a file for her and include violent rages, since that's what they appeared to categorize werewolves as? She closed her book and stood from the ground, eyeing Simon and Derek one last time. When she reached the doorway, Brady called to her.

"Oh, and Mary? Don't believe a word she tells you," he said softly, and then turned back to his game.


	8. Chapter O7, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ So I guess I haven't really been updating as much as I would have liked, and Thanksgiving break is almost over. /: I've gotten two chapters for _Everyone's Secret_, and only one for _Plastic Promises_ (my Vampire Kisses fanfiction). I remember the days when I'd be updating at least three times a day. Ugh. I'm losing my touch. Well, anyway, enough lamenting. I hope you like the chapter, and pleaseee review. ;D It means a lot. Thanks guys! Enjoy, and I hope all of you [Americans] had a happy Thanksgiving. I know I did. I'm ready for Thanksgiving leftovers! :D And have a safe Black Friday! I know I'm ready to go shopping, well, for tomorrow that is when all the chaos has died down. [x Hahaha, okay, okay. I need to stop using these Author's Notes as blogs. dX Enjoy the chapter and, again, please review! Thaanks! :D

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**Chapter O7.**

Just a couple minutes after Mary had left the room to visit Dr. Gill in her office, Derek slammed his book shut and gathered his schoolwork together. Simon looked at him in the corner of his eye and mimicked his actions. Brady, who was still playing the Xbox, looked down at them with confusion.

"Where are you guys going?" he asked.

"To study with some peace," Derek muttered. Brady rolled his eyes. Once Derek had tucked his book under his arm, he crawled around the coffee table to where Mary's work was laid out. He began to gather her things together when Brady stopped him.

"You don't need to do that. She's coming back," he said. Derek's dark eyes met with Brady's egotistic ones.

"I highly doubt that." Brady was taken aback. Derek glanced down at the controller in Brady's hand. "And I know it would be in your best interest to get off that game and start studying. God knows you need it."

"Look, _Derek_," snarled Brady, placing the controller on the seat beside him and standing up. Derek stood from his knees as well, placing his book on top of Mary's on the table.

"Derek," hissed Simon. "Come _on_. You don't need this." Derek ignored him.

"You know, I know the two of us aren't on best terms, but ever since Mary came, you've been acting even colder towards me. You jealous that she likes me better than you?" A smirk appeared on Brady's smug face. Simon closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Brady …" Simon stretched his name out into many syllables as he said it in a warning tone.

Derek rolled his eyes and gathered both his book and Mary's, tucking them under the same arm. He turned his back on Brady and led Simon towards the doorway.

"I knew it," Brady snickered. "You probably get wet dreams every night thinking about her, probably a boner from looking at her giant boobs. I'll bet I'll get a taste of her before you ever will."

Simon widened his eyes. "That's gross, man," he said, turning his head to glare at him. However, Derek had completely stopped in his tracks. He never put up with Brady's taunts before, but, for some reason, when he taunted him about Mary, his blood boiled. Derek's fingers clutched into fists as he narrowed his eyebrows. Simon heard his heavy breathing and gave him a push forward.

"Come on. Let's go," he whispered. "You know he's just full of it. Mary doesn't even look twice at him."

Derek, still infuriated, continued up towards their bedroom, Simon hot on his heels. Why had Brady's words affected him so? He didn't need Simon to tell him that Brady was full of it.

"Bro?" Simon called, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking up at him with concern. It was then that Derek had realized he'd stopped directly in front of Mary's bedroom door. Simon looked from his brother's face to Mary's room, and then back to Derek. "Why are we here?"

Derek blinked and shook his head. He handed him Mary's textbook. "Put this in her room. I've got to finish my math."

"But … you're already here," Simon said, but Derek ignored him and turned on his heel, walking towards their shared bedroom. Derek heard Simon sigh heavily and walk inside her room. Suddenly, Derek darted down the stairs, slinking in the shadows so that neither the nurses nor Brady would catch him downstairs. He made his way towards Dr. Gill's office and pressed his body against the wall outside her room. He probably should have told Simon about his coming to eavesdrop on the meeting, but Simon wouldn't have been able to hear anything anyway. Derek knew Simon would understand. He always did.

Derek pressed his ear against the wall. Mary's and Dr. Gill's voices were very clear, as if he were in the room with them.

"Let's talk about your home life, Mary," Dr. Gill said. He heard a snort, which he knew belonged to Mary.

"Let's not," she said.

"I understand you ran away. Why is that?" Dr. Gill pressed. A heavy sigh. Mary's.

"Because my father's a douche," Mary snapped.

"Let's refrain from using bad language."

"You asked me why. I told you. I ran away because my father's a dirty douche-bag. A bastard." A heavy sigh. Dr. Gill's.

"Have you and your father fought much? What did he do to cause you to leave?" Dr. Gill asked.

"Of course we fought. There was never a day we didn't. I left because I was sick of the violence, but I guess violence is in our nature anyway," Mary muttered. Derek narrowed his eyebrows. She was referring to the lycanthropy. He was pretty sure Dr. Gill knew this too, but he expected her to come to a different conclusion.

"Violence doesn't have to be in our nature, Mary. It's possible to be civil," she said. Mary broke into a humorless laughter.

"Oh that's complete B.S. You know what I'm referring to. I'm not referring to humans." Derek's eyes widened.

"Well then what else could you possibly be referring to?" Dr. Gill asked innocently.

"I _know_ Davidoff's told you what I am. What my father is. Davidoff's seen me Change," Mary said softly.

"Mary, I have no idea what you're talking about." Derek heard some scratching. Dr. Gill writing on her notepad.

"What are you writing? Mary Ralluber—insanity, violent rages, possibly future murderer? It's in my nature, and you know it," Mary hissed.

"Did your father tell you violence was in your nature? That murder was in your nature?"

"Well my mother sure as hell didn't. She didn't even know about us, not until she witnessed my father's Change. She freaked out and D. Jay had to tell her the truth. That _I_ was one too.

"My mother never looked at me the same. And then, one day, she decided it best to leave. But D. Jay didn't agree with that. No ma'am. He dragged her outside and, about a minute worth of screams later, there was silence and he came back in, his face and clothes drenched in blood.

"You want to know why I ran away? Why my father's a douche? He killed my mom. He _ate_ her. Because she couldn't handle the truth. And, do you know what really sucks? I look _just like her_, so I'm constantly called Fiona because my drunk father can't tell the difference. So begins the fighting, the abuse, the _rages_. You _know_ what I am. Don't you _dare_ try to deny it."

There was silence in the room. Derek's eyes averted to the floor, eyebrows still narrowed. There wasn't even a sniffle. Derek couldn't smell tears. Mary wasn't crying, not even after telling Dr. Gill her horrifying story.

"Incidents like this happen often, sadly enough," Dr. Gill began, and dread began to fill Derek's body. She was about to label her. Of course Dr. Gill wasn't going to admit that Mary really was a werewolf. If anything, Dr. Gill was a fool for labeling her with a mental disorder even when Mary _knew_ for a fact she was a werewolf. But supernaturals couldn't exist in the outside world. They had to be hidden, had to be kept secret. Brainwashing supernatural children with false disorders was their way of keeping it secret.

"I _highly_ doubt it," Mary hissed.

"You're traumatized by the murder of your mother, and with all that your father has fed you, about violence and rages being in 'your nature,' it contributes to your beliefs now. After all, it's only natural for a child to believe everything their parent tells them," Dr. Gill explained.

"So my father has been telling me lies. That's it, right?"

"Yes." There was scoff. Mary's.

"Frankly, I'd probably believe everything you've just told me if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Mary snarled.

"The eyes can be deceiving. After everything you've been through, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if your eyes began playing tricks on you, especially from all of the false facts your father has fed you. You've become vulnerable, Mary. The death of your mother has affected you greatly. You're traumatized from the memory.

"I'm going to take these notes to get you tested, but the idea of what I believe you're diagnosed with is probably correct," said Dr. Gill. The session was coming to a close.

"And what's that?" Mary snapped.

"Most likely you are diagnosed with psychological trauma, perhaps insanity, based on what you've seen." Mary scoffed.

"Of course." She stretched the words into multiple syllables, her tone sarcastic.

"The test will come back hopefully tomorrow or the following day. In the meantime, I would recommend you stay away from Derek Souza." Derek's eyes widened.

"Why's that?" Mary asked with an attitude.

"He suffers similar symptoms. If anything of what he says were to get through to your mind, you'd probably believe him, just because you are weak right now. Like I said, your mother's death has really taken a toll on you."

"So, what's Derek? Is he an insane kid too?"

"We don't use language like that," Dr. Gill said sternly, "and Derek's diagnosis is confidential, but he's experienced false beliefs as well. I wouldn't want you to believe everything he told you. I'm trying to help you both. It would be easier if you two didn't come into contact so much." Derek rolled his eyes. 

_False beliefs my ass,_ he thought.

"So it completely makes sense that we're living under same roof," Mary said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Gotcha."

Derek heard Dr. Gill sigh. "We know you're old enough to be responsible. Do you want to get better, Mary?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you do."

"Well, whatever. Truthfully, nothing can cure me."

"With an attitude like that, nothing _can_ cure you. You have to want it, Mary." There was a short pause before Mary replied.

"Well, since it's what you want to hear then, yes! I _do_ want to get better!" She said the last bit in a false enthusiastic tone, and Derek quietly scoffed.

There was a ruffle of papers and a heavy sigh, which belonged to Dr. Gill. "I will see you tomorrow, Mary. Please send Derek to my office."

"Didn't you just say you wanted me to stay away from Derek?"

"Can I trust you to merely tell him to come to my office? I don't think that involves much interacting." Derek could hear footsteps coming towards the door beside him and Mary's scent tickled his nose.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," she muttered and opened the door. She didn't even look his way before crying out loud, "Derek! Dr. Gill wants to see you!" in a voice that carried through the entire house. Mary closed the door and glanced back at Derek. "Guess nothing's ever private with you around, huh?"

"You would have told us eventually," Derek muttered.

"Us?"

"Simon and me."

"Oh, right. The Siamese foster brothers. Can't do one thing without the other. Speaking of which, where is your significant other? Shouldn't he be playing spy with you?" she asked.

"He's upstairs."

Suddenly, they smelled one of the nurses, Miss Van Dop, coming near, her footsteps quickly padding through the hall.

"You've got a date with Dr. Gill. See ya," Mary said, and slunk around the corner and up the stairs to avoid Miss Van Dop. She was going to scold Mary for "not using her inside voice" and she didn't find it that all appealing to stick around. Derek watched her leave before pushing the door open to Dr. Gill's office.


	9. Chapter O8, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Hey! Hey, hey, HEY! ANOTHER chapter! Today! I'm blown. O: Hahahaaa! Alright, well, enjoy and please review! Thanks bunches! (:

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**Chapter O8.**

Mary paced across her room, holding a small orange container with small white pills. She had just come back from her third visit with Dr. Gill, in which she had handed her the prescription for her psychological disorder. According to Dr. Gill, Mary was diagnosed with psychological trauma, which had taken affect ever since her mother was murdered, according to the doctor. Of course, Mary knew this was utter nonsense. Sure, she might have been traumatized by her mother's death, but she knew that her symptoms all had to do with her being a werewolf.

"You do know that this is all bullshit, right?" Mary scoffed, sitting in Dr. Gill's office a few hours earlier. "I mean, you _know_ what I am. I'm a goddamn _werewolf_! That's why I have uncontrollable violent rages. I'm seeing things, I'm not believing things that aren't real … it's all the lycanthropy."

"Now Mary, _you_ do realize that everything you're saying is nonsense. This is _because_ of the psychological trauma. You feel uncontrollable anger because you've been traumatized," Dr. Gill explained.

"Maybe I have been. Yes, D. Jay killed my mom. Yes, I am angry about it. But I've been having rages since _before_ he killed her. I was the meanest little girl in the world, back when I couldn't control my powers. I murdered grown _men_ when I was only five!" Mary exclaimed.

"You're not a werewolf, Mary! Such creatures do not exist!"

"Bull. Shit. You're so full of it," Mary growled. Dr. Gill widened her eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" she said, fully offended.

"Did I stutter?" she snapped. "How can you sit there and remain completely in denial, even _when_ I told you I knew _for a fact_ what I am. _You_ know what I am. You _work_ with people like me! Davidoff told me!" Dr. Gill's eyes widened even further.

"He told you what?"

"He took me to a Denny's after he found me in mid-Change, treated me to dinner, and then explained to me the different supernatural races. Witches, sorcerers, _werewolves _… Now tell me _that_ is a lie."

Dr. Gill shook her head. "Mary, I hate to tell you this, but none of that happened. When Dr. Davidoff found you, you were passed out from starvation and lack of rest. He took you to a hospital. I was _there,_ Mary. While you were passed out, I visited in your room. It was I who recommended you come to Lyle House. We could keep an eye on you, in case something was to go wrong."

Mary stared at her with disbelief. "You're lying."

"I'm not, Mary. It's not my job to lie to you."

"Too bad you're doing it anyway!"

Dr. Gill reached inside a large handbag that sat at her feet. Mary could hear clattering of pills. Her breathing grew heavy.

"The trauma has taken over your mind and is creating memories that have never existed," Dr. Gill said. "Take one of these in the morning during breakfast, and one at night during dinner. They'll ease your mind and help you overcome the trauma." She handed Mary a wide orange container and smiled softly at her. Mary stared at her with disbelief.

"We want to help you, Mary, to help you get better. If you cooperate, you'll return to living a normal life, but you've got to want it," she said. She closed Mary's fingers around the container and excused her from her office.

Mary hadn't been able to let go of the pills since then.

"I know it was real," Mary said to herself. "There was no hospital, I didn't pass out. I went to Denny's, Davidoff told me about the supernaturals, and he took me to those labs. The boys were right; Dr. Gill is full of it. Psychological trauma my ass."

There was a knock on her door. Mary had been so caught up in her thinking that she hadn't realized the soft scent that had neared her room. She turned to see Simon at the door, a smirk on his face.

"New meds?" He nodded at the bottle in her hand. "Derek told me what they labeled you as. Psychological trauma—and they've got a legit excuse for it too? Sucks."

Mary sighed. "I know."

"Hey, you wanna chill with us outside? Derek and me, I mean. Brady's not normally welcome when Derek's around," Simon mentioned. Mary scoffed.

"I know how he feels."

"He's a bit of a jerk, and pretty annoying too, but he doesn't really get under my skin as much as he does Derek's. I don't know, I try to be friends. I guess it's Brady who chooses whether he wants one or not. He knows no one really likes him here, not even the nurses. They get tired of his antics." Mary pressed her lips together and nodded. "Anyway, so ... do you wanna come? Derek's actually looking forward to some Changing tutoring." Simon chuckled, and something inside Mary made her smile and chuckle too.

"Sure. Although, I don't really know what else to teach him. He knows pretty much everything I do."

"Well, your company would be nice for him anyway," Simon said with a smile. Mary's eyes widened and she could feel her face getting hot. Embarrassed, she dropped her gaze to the floor. Simon's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry … was that wrong to say?" Mary's eyes quickly returned to Simon's.

"No! No … it's nothing. I'll meet you guys outside in a couple of minutes," she assured. Simon smiled and nodded, leaving her to her room.

For some reason, whenever Derek and she were mentioned together, something stirred inside her body, making her stomach feel heavy. Mary had never been in love before, but she'd certainly had crushes, however, this was no crush. Whatever she felt for Derek was much more powerful as a crush. She continued to wonder, could it be love?

Mary rolled her eyes at the thought. She knew better than to fall in love with a werewolf. As if she'd want to deal with double the rages and mood swings. She wanted to live a normal lifestyle, despite being her supernatural self. As much as she loved the freedom of being a wolf, she hated who she was. It was too difficult to control, too difficult to hide. What if she fell into D. Jay's footsteps, murdering the one she loved because of how he reacted to what she was?

She smacked the bottle of pills against her forehead and glared with her eyes tightly shut, biting on her bottom lip. Her uncontrollable emotions were about to get the best of her.

She opened one eye and peeked at the pills. What did they _really_ do to her? Since she didn't actually have psychological trauma, would they still help her with her uncontrollable rages? However, the thought of being drugged up did not appear appealing to her, especially since it reminded her of her father. She cast the pills onto her bed and left her room.

* * *

Mary met Simon and Derek outside after asking Mrs. Talbot to join them in a game of basketball. Mrs. Talbot was hesitant, considering Mary was the only female of the home and she was about to join two boys outside alone, but she finally let her, reassuring her she'd have her eye on them.

Simon was dribbling the basketball in place, while Derek watched with his hands in the pockets of his dark baggy jeans. He was donning another sweatshirt, even though it wasn't very cold out. Both Mary and Simon were sporting t-shirts and shorts, Mary's black hair tied into a high ponytail.

"About time. We thought you weren't going to show," Simon joked. Mary chuckled and rolled her eyes, then drifted her gaze to Derek. She realized that his face was looking ten times better than last week. His skin was almost one hundred percent clear of any acne. She grinned and crossed her arms.

"I told you the miracle cream would work," she said to him. Derek grunted and bowed his head to hide his eyes behind his thick black hair, which was still greasy even after his afternoon shower.

"Sure did. I haven't seen Derek's skin looking this good since before he hit puberty," Simon said, nudging his brother with a grin. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Anyway, I heard you wanted to learn more about the Change. What's on your mind, Derek?" asked Mary, leaning against the pole of the basketball hoop. She noticed Derek suddenly shoot daggers at Simon, who merely shrugged and began spinning the ball on his finger.

"No, not really," he mumbled, digging the rubber toe of his shoe into a small patch of dirt. Mary arched an eyebrow and turned to Simon. Simon sighed.

"Well, I'd like to learn some things about the Change, even though I'm not a werewolf," he said. Derek's eyebrows knitted together. "I've never seen a werewolf in full Change. You have gone through the Change, have you?" he suddenly asked. Mary chuckled.

"Funny, that was the very question Derek had trouble asking, yet here you are asking me willy-nilly." Derek groaned and rolled his eyes, stubbornly looking away from the two. "Yes, I've gone through the Change. However, I'm not going to demonstrate, since it requires me taking off my clothes, and I don't exactly feel like doing that," she explained. Simon's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"Whoa, say again?" Mary rolled her eyes.

"Shifting from human to wolf makes your clothes shred off of your body, since they aren't fitted for canines. In order to save your clothes, you've got to take them off. Normally when a person goes through the Change, they're in a secluded area for privacy. When they're ready to Change back into their human form, they either return to their privacy place, or find somewhere new with clothes. It's actually really annoying."

"So, would you recommend Derek carry a backpack with extra clothes with him?" Simon asked. Mary giggled, which made Derek glower.

"It's a good idea. That's what I did when I ran away from home," she explained.

"Did your dad teach you everything about the lycanthropy?" asked Derek solemnly, shifting subjects. The smile from Mary's face had vanished and was replaced with a thin line. The light from her face had darkened. Finally, she nodded.

"Yeah. In secrecy, of course. He told me all while I was growing up, 'Don't you tell your mama about this, Mary. Bad things will happen and you'll be damn sorry.' Not the best mantra, but it kept me quiet."

"That's terrible," Simon said, his eyebrows narrowed. She shrugged.

"Mom didn't know. If she were to find out, which she did, all hell would break loose. And, well, it did. She packed up and walked out the door, but of course D. Jay had to stop her. My mom had lips looser than a cannon, and since she was so scared about what she'd seen, she was bound to tell the police."

"What did she see?" asked Simon.

"D. Jay was Changing into wolf-form. I mean, just imagine the person you love turning into this ungodly hairy creature. It's not even _natural_.

"So, as soon as Mom found out, she ran to her room, packed her suitcase of clothes, and then ran to me, crying hysterically and trying to tell me we were leaving. 'Course, I didn't know what the hell she was talking about because I couldn't understand her through all of that crying, but it didn't matter because D. Jay had come back and she'd freaked. He knew she'd spotted him and, when he noticed her trying to take me, he told her that I was one too. I didn't even get a say in this. I would have told her that I wasn't, just to not make her leave me, but it didn't matter. She was already afraid of me; I could see it in her eyes.

"Afterwards, D. Jay ordered my mom to stay with him—or, actually, threatened is probably a better word—so she didn't leave right away. Mom stayed with us for about a month or two, but during the time, she still tried escaping. However, you know how werewolves have got super-sensitive hearing _and_ scent, so D. Jay caught every one of her attempts. They fought constantly, Mom never looked at me in the eye again, and everything had gone to hell, just like D. Jay said it would. Funny thing is I never told her what D. Jay was teaching me. He said I'd be damn sorry if I told her, and I didn't, but I still felt terrible. She'd found out on her own.

"If Derek's relayed everything to you that he heard in my first meeting with Dr. Gill, then you know how the story ends," Mary said to Simon. "A damn bloody ending. The worst part about us"—she looked at Derek—"is that werewolves don't get happily ever afters. My father was one of the heads of his pack, full of dirty, murderous, ne'er-do-wells who kill either when their territory's been breached, or just for the hell of it. Moral of the story is that even though my dad was a dirty bastard, he was right about one thing: we live a violent and murderous nature. We're _werewolves_, Derek, and whether we like it or not, our lives will always be bloody."


	10. Chapter O9, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Hey peeps. Here's the ninth chapter of Derek and Mary. C: Enjooy.

* * *

**Chapter O9.**

Mary's words stuck in Derek's head for as long as he could remember. After her story, his hatred for the werewolf half of him only grew, and, despite all the times Mary had told him to accept what he was, he never could. Funnily enough, Derek knew already that Mary couldn't ever accept what she was either.

A couple weeks passed and spring finally turned into summer. He began noticing a slight difference in Mary's behavior. He saw that her face, her body, her everything seemed contained in a forceful manner. He wondered if she'd ever Changed while here at Lyle House, and, if so, when? He noticed immediately when she was absent from her room, or if she was struggling with pain. Despite Mary's instructions to let her be during her times of the month, Derek slipped into her room and sat with her. Sometimes he'd hum a tune he'd heard from his past, a tune he'd either heard from his father or from one of the nurses who cared for him and the other three werewolf pups from the nursery in the Edison Group's labs. The tune immediately calmed her writhing and moaning, and she'd settle down, the grip she'd hold on his hand loosening, but not completely.

As Derek watched Mary in her pained state, he often times wondered, is this what it looks like during the first Change? Mary had said it was painful the very first time, and that only made Derek all the more anxious and scared for it. He wanted it to come, just so he could get it over with, but he dreaded its untimely arrival, constantly thinking on the pain and what he'd become.

Derek tried only contemplating this when Mary wasn't fully aware of his emotions during her pained state, or when she wasn't around, as he didn't exactly want to talk about this fear. He didn't want to have to hear that he had to get over this fear of his and just _accept it_. He didn't want to hear words from Mary that even she wouldn't listen to.

However, ever since Mary had told her story, he never stopped thinking about the lycanthropy and the Change. He tried not to think about it, failing at every attempt. He wondered what it looked like, and then recalled Mary telling him about the shedding of clothes and returning naked when they transformed back to human state. How painful was it during the first Change? Were there symptoms, or did it come at random without warning? He knew with all of the questions building up in his mind that he'd have to ask Mary sooner or later.

* * *

Even though Derek had become more comfortable with asking Mary questions, there was one that he was hesitant to ask. He longed to see how the Change was performed, just so he'd have a heads up on what to expect. The part that kept him from asking was that she'd have to undress, maybe not in front of him, but she'd be naked before his eyes so he could watch the process and study it. Mary wouldn't want to be undressed in front of him, and he didn't want her to be either. Things could easily become awkward between them, should he ask this, so whenever the opportunity to ask came up, he always bit his tongue and kept from asking.

He noticed that Mary had become annoyed with his secret question. He'd come up to her on numerous occasions when no one was around and begin slowly his inquiry, but he'd always cut himself off, bow his head and shake it back and forth, and then finally mutter, "Never mind," and walk away. Now, whenever he began to say something, she snap, "Going to finish this time, Derek? Or are you going to keep another thing from me?" Derek hated the tone of her voice, especially when used towards him, so, just to anger her, he'd shut his mouth and glare.

This had been going on for about a week already and Derek was sick of it. He'd finally decided that he couldn't risk losing Mary's friendship, since he needed her advice and experience to prepare him for his own Change. She'd been the only other werewolf he could talk to about things like this. If they were on unsteady ground, Derek would be in trouble. After all, he needed her more than she needed him.

Her scent led him to the upstairs bathroom, the smell of minty toothpaste filling his nostrils. He appeared at the bathroom door, watching Mary brush her teeth in a pair of short navy blue shorts and a white wife-beater that displayed some cleavage for Derek to see. Spending more time with Mary grew his fondness for her, but he wasn't about to turn into Brady and stare at her large breasts for hours on end.

Mary turned her head, her mouth foamy from the paste as she worked her green plastic toothbrush over her teeth. She arched an eyebrow at Derek's presence. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his green pajama pants and pressed a shoulder against the doorframe. Mary spat her toothpaste into the sink.

"What's up?" she asked casually, not looking at him as she cleaned the sink out. She cupped her hands underneath the faucet and poured the water into her mouth to gargle.

Derek was silent as his eyes met with the ground. He became hesitant again, thinking if he should really ask of her this request. He thought of the consequences. She'd most likely say no, just because she didn't want him to see her naked. However, her saying no went two ways: either she'd brush it off and figure it his mere curiosity to see the Change and not her body, or she'd get offended and it would become awkward between the two of them again.

Then, of course, the was the miraculous yes answer, which would solve all of his problems—well, almost. But he tried not to get his hopes up that high.

"Are you going to say anything, or are you just going to stand there watching the floor. It'll look the same in a year, you know," Mary teased. Derek's dark eyes finally lifted and met with her suspecting ones. She folded her arms over her chest, making the crease between her breasts grow longer, Derek noticed as his eyes involuntarily fell to them. He shook his head and returned to her dark brown eyes. Her black hair framed her face, her bangs slanting over her forehead, and wisps of short hair sticking up at her hairline. Her plump lips were pressed together in anticipation, her cheeks rosy from her natural complexion, her skin clear of any acne, as she continued to use her miracle cream. Derek couldn't help but think of her as such a beautiful girl, and he wondered what it would be like to see her naked.

"_Derek,"_ snapped Mary. His mind left his daydreams and he blinked to refocus on reality. Her eyebrows were narrowed with annoyance. "You're acting really weird, of course, when is that _not_ natural? But seriously, can I get out of the bathroom? You're in the way." She motioned for him to move and he slowly comprehended and obeyed.

"Sorry," he mumbled lowly. As Mary made her way out of the bathroom, her arm brushed his lower chest accidentally, yet his heart began to pound. He growled at the unwanted sensation of his heart racing, and Mary looked back at him with a look.

"You better not be growling at _me_," she snapped with a glare. Derek returned it, rolled his eyes, and slammed the bathroom door shut behind him. Outside, he heard her sigh heavily and listened as her footsteps softened when she got to her room.

Derek resisted the urge to throw his fist into the wooden door with anger. That hadn't exactly gone as planned. Now things were worse, he feared. Something had to happen soon, to mend whatever was happening between them. Was it Derek causing this change in their relationship, or Mary? Even he didn't know and it upset him. Derek was beginning to really like her. She helped him with his Changing questions.

Maybe he was taking this all out of perspective. Perhaps nothing really was changing between the two of them. Maybe it was just a phase that they both would get over. He tried to remain positive. Just as he thought before, Derek really needed Mary.

* * *

Derek immediately sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Something was wrong … _again_. He looked over at Simon's bed. At least he was sleeping peacefully. He then started to search for Mary's scent. His eyebrows narrowed. She wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere in the house. Derek's heart began to beat fast as all irrational thoughts came to mind. He couldn't even focus on staying calm. With sweat gleaming on his naked chest, Derek darted out of his bedroom, slinking around in the hall down the stairs. He needed to be outside, in case Mary's scent was stronger there.

Sure enough, when he reached the bottom stair, he knew Mary had been here. His heart raced even faster and he wasn't sure he should be excited or terrified that he'd found her scent. Nothing smelled off about it, which was a good thing, but what if she was gone?

If Mary ever left Lyle House without Derek, he didn't have to think twice about his heart breaking. And it was then that he knew he genuinely cared for her.

Running on soft feet towards the backdoor where the alarm system was installed in naught but his boxers, he punched in the code, and then cringed when the acceptance beep sounded. He listened carefully for either of the nurses or the boys, but no one stirred. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then pushed open the door.

The cool summer night air hit him and blew through his hair, which was still wet from his nightly shower, and also from the sweat that gathered at his hairline. The air made the sweat on his body cool and made him sticky, but he didn't care. He raised his nose in the air and sniffed for that strange familiar scent that belonged to the she-wolf. Derek's heart began to slam against his chest with such force it made his body hurt when he couldn't find her scent. He stumbled towards the side of the house where the garden shed was kept and leaned against it, fighting the urge to cry. Why was she gone? _Why was she gone_? Pain eroded from his chest and filled his entire body. He bared his teeth and began to growl, but fought to keep it low so as not to wake the house. After several long minutes of waiting for even a faint smell, Derek's eyes shut and he fell into slumber.

However, he was soon awakened by what he searched for.

He was suddenly hit with the stench of a wolf and his eyes flew open. Straight ahead stood a large black wolf, eyes bright and green and leering at him. The body of it was not so rugged, but it was strong and was shaped femininely. Derek cocked his head to the side, eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement.

"Mary?" he whispered, but the wolf heard him anyway. It trotted towards him, and Derek didn't move an inch. His nose never deceived him. This animal was the girl he was attracted to.

The wolf made it to him, and he realized that it was smaller than he initially thought. The wolf was still big, especially for a wolf, but when he imagined a werewolf in form, he figured them to be much bigger, perhaps almost the size of a lion. Mary's wolf size was probably that way because of her human size. Did they go hand-in-hand?

"What are you doing?" he asked her gently. Mary looked into Derek's eyes before rubbing her furry face against his cheek, pawing gently at his legs. He slowly reached a hand towards her ear and ran his fingers through her fur. It was so incredibly soft, like a brand new blanket. He heard her whine softly and then looked back in her eyes, taking the sides of her face in both of his hands.

"So this is what you look like," he said. "This is your freedom form." And then, it suddenly hit him. Mary had come out here for a run. He knew how she loved running, and he'd noticed how strained she'd become especially when the summer hit. Relief flooded his body and he chuckled, shaking his head. Mary's lips pulled up at the corners and a long tongue lolled out.

"You came out here to run."

A soft whimper escaped Mary's muzzle and her panting grew heavy. Suddenly, Derek noticed something changing about her. Her body was transforming.

"Where are your clothes, Mary? I'll get them for you," Derek said quickly as he began to stand. Mary shook her head and growled at him, pouncing on his chest to make him stay. His eyebrows narrowed with confusion as he watched her face stretch. The first thing to shrink was the muzzle, and the black hairs on her body began to shorten. Her paws began fingers and toes on hands and feet. When Mary's mouth semi-returned to normal, she whispered, "Watch," and Derek stayed put.

He couldn't understand how she'd figured out that he'd wanted to see the process of the Change. Maybe it was just a coincidence, that since he was already here and she was already like this, he might as well watch and learn. After all, Derek knew anything Mary did for Derek was just to prepare him for the Change.

Mary's wolf body slowly began to shift back to her human one. Her beautiful face returned, and the only hair on her body was left on her head, which trailed down over her shoulders. Once Mary was back to normal, he was afraid for his eyes to leave his face.

"That's the Change, Derek," she said softly, cupping her hands around either side of his jaw. He gulped and struggled to keep a steady breath.

"Let me get your clothes," he offered again, but Mary placed a finger over his lips and shook her head. She moved her hair back and exposed her entire nude body to him. Derek's face was beet red and he became embarrassed and ecstatic.

"Mary …"

"Shush, Derek," she said. "How many times do I have to tell you to just be quiet?"

And then, without warning, she crashed her lips into his, wrapping her arms around his sturdy neck. Derek's eyes were wide with shock and for a brief moment, he didn't kiss her back, as he didn't know how to react. Finally, his eyelids lowered and his hands fell to her bare waist. Her skin was so soft, he'd never realized. His fingers lightly grazed her backside, but then quickly retracted. A soft chuckle escaped Mary's lips and she parted from him, the bridge of her nose touching the tip of his.

"I told myself I wasn't going to fall in love with another werewolf, that it would only cause so much more chaos in my life. But"—she sucked on his lower lip gently—"I realized that my life would be so much chaos _without _you in it. Derek …" It was then Derek's turn to place his finger against her lips.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet?" he whispered with a grin, and he grabbed the back of her head and pressed his lips into hers. Mary's arms unlocked themselves from around his neck and her hands began to roam the strong and chiseled planes of his chest while Derek's hands roamed her body themselves.

They spent the entire night out there, wrapped in each other's arms, expressing the love they'd bottled up for so long .


	11. Chapter 1O, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ I was going to post this up last night, but I never got the chance to. D: Well, here it is! :D Enjoy some more Mary and Derek! Please review! Thanks. ;D

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**Chapter 1O.**

Mary woke up with tears streaming down her face, and to the scent of another werewolf. She sat up, gasping for air, clutching her chest, before releasing a long cry and sobbing her eyes out.

"Mary? What's wrong?" asked Derek frantically, pressing her against his chest, his long arms enwrapping around her. Instead of answering him, however, she buried her face into his chest and her tears splashing against his bare chest.

She'd dreamed about her mother, and, for the first time in a long time, cried about her death. She'd never lived a normal life, but she'd had a normal mother. Before she'd found out about Mary and D. Jay being werewolves, Fiona had cared and pampered Mary with all of the affection a mother could muster. Mary missed that more than anything. She missed singing to songs with her, she missed helping her bake pumpkin bread during the holidays, she missed being read to every night, even as she got too old for that. Mary wanted her mother.

After a couple more hours of bawling into Derek's chest, Mary's crying slowly began to subside and she finally fell back into her slumber, Derek's arms still clenched around her flawlessly-shaped body. She felt comforted in his arms and by his strange and familiar scent. She was saddened to wake up and find the other side of her bed empty that next morning.

The sun poured into her room and she was surprised at what time it was. She'd actually slept in. Why hadn't any of the nurses come to wake her up? Rubbing her eyes out, which, she'd noticed as she caught her reflection in the vanity mirror, were bloodshot from all of her crying last night, and tossed the covers off of her, padding towards her closet in her pajama shorts and t-shirt for some crisply clean clothes. She pulled out a pair of skinny jeans with holes in the knees and a white v-neck. She brushed her mane of black hair and allowed it to fall over her shoulders. Slipping on a pair of socks and her only pair of shoes torn and worn-out black Converse Mary walked out of her room. Even though the temperature was well below fifty degrees, Mary wasn't affected by the cold nipping at her bare arms at all. Just another perk of being a werewolf.

She met with two of the boys in the living room, Brady and Simon playing Xbox. They both turned her way when she'd entered.

"Hot damn, girl. About time you woke up," Brady exclaimed. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Lucky you, getting to sleep in," chuckled Simon with a kind smile. Mary couldn't help but return a brief one back to him.

"Seen your brother anywhere?" she asked.

"You mean you haven't found him?" Simon inquired. She knew what he was referring to. Mary should have been able to sniff Derek out herself. She didn't need to ask anybody where he was. With a quick sniff, Mary nodded and began to turn on her heel.

"Right. Duh. Thanks, Simon," she said.

"You better be careful, babe," Brady warned as she almost left the room. Mary turned her neck with an annoyed look.

"Why, Brady?" she groaned with an eye roll.

"You spend too much time with the beast and the nurses will think you two have got something kinky going on together." He arched an eyebrow and a smug grin appeared on his face. Mary's annoyed expression suddenly twisted into a glare and she bared her teeth. Clenching her fists, she began to breath heavily. Simon's eyes widened.

"Brady, shut up," he snapped at him.

Suddenly, a figured loomed behind Mary and her scent told her it was he who she'd been thinking of.

"You don't know anything, Brady. Besides, I thought you'd already called dibs on her," Derek retorted from above Mary. She felt him touch the small of her back and immediately butterflies were set loose to traverse inside her body. Her breathing slowed and steadied and she'd unclenched her fists, her face relaxing, but eyes still glaring at Brady.

"You called _dibs_?" Mary repeated, barking with humorless laughter. Brady rolled his eyes and glared at Derek.

"Just warning you two. Better be careful about the time you spend together. Don't think I'm retarded; I know you have feelings for each other," Brady said, and Derek, Mary, and even Simon could hear the jealousy dripping in his tone.

Brady turned back to the game, snapping at Simon to return to the game. Simon rolled his eyes at him, and then met gazes with Derek briefly. Mary watched as the two shared a silent message and Simon finally turned back to the game. Derek leaned down to Mary's ear and whispered for her to come with him, his breath sending ecstatic chills down her neck.

Derek turned his back on her and walked away towards the backdoor. Mrs. Talbot was in the kitchen and he asked if he and Mary could play basketball. As always, the elderly nurse hesitated before finally okaying the two of them to go outside together, but she warned them that she'd be keeping a close eye on them.

Derek nodded his chin over to the direction of the lone basketball resting in the small patch of dirt. Mary obeyed and fetched for it, dribbling it back to him to make it appear that they were actually going to play.

"How are you doing?" he asked, opening his hands for the ball. Mary tossed it to him.

"Better," she said with a smile. "Although, I'll admit I wasn't expecting you to actually leave me."

"You know I couldn't stay all night. If one of the nurses were to walk in with me in there …"

"Yeah, I know," Mary said quickly with a sigh. "Although it was nice while it lasted."

"Even though you were bawling your eyes out all over me last night?" Derek asked with a smirk as he threw the ball back at her. Mary scowled and threw the ball at the hoop. She made the shot as the ball swiftly went through the hoop, not even bouncing off the rim. Derek caught it and began to dribble.

"Whatever."

"You never did tell me why you were crying," Derek mentioned. Mary's scowl dropped and an expression of sadness overtook her face. Derek immediately frowned as he realized it probably wasn't the best topic to bring up. Before he could apologize for asking her, Mary answered him.

"I was dreaming about my mom," she said quietly, softly smiling while staring at the grass behind Derek in a daze. His eyebrows knitted together. Mary was rarely in this kind of state. "I was dreaming about how she used to be with me before she found out about what I am. And then I dreamed of her death, of how my father murdered her because she was going to tell on us." Tears stung at the edges of her brilliant green eyes as she slowly shook her head. Her gaze lifted and met with Derek's own green eyes, reading the curiosity and sadness that wandered in them. "I've never missed her so much before. I hadn't cried like last night since the day she died."

She released a heavy and unsteady sigh, struggling to keep her tears to a minimum. Derek suddenly walked towards her, dropping the basketball and pressing her body close to his.

"Talbot isn't watching," he murmured. "So I can finally hold you again."

His words danced wistfully on her heart and Mary embraced his middle, squeezing him and blinking back tears that wished to free from her eyes. She whispered his name, each letter tasting like sugar and involuntarily making her smile even through her hardship, and felt his fingers tangle through her hair. His grey hooded sweatshirt soaked up the tears that fell from her face.

Suddenly, Derek pushed her away and Mary stared at him, puzzled.

"Talbot's back," he mentioned and Mary slightly turned her head, only enough to see Mrs. Talbot at the kitchen window through her peripherals. Sighing, she turned back towards Derek and nodded, sniffling. The two continued to briefly scrimmage while Mrs. Talbot watched them before they stopped to take a short break.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Mary started, wiping her tears from her eyes. "How have _you_ been feeling? I mean, you haven't gone through the Change yet, and I was wondering if you'd been feeling off lately."

"Off? Not really, no. I feel fine, although, my face is finally clear of that damn acne," he said with a scowl. Mary smiled widely.

"I told you it would work," she sang.

"What do you mean by _off_, though? Any symptoms I should be experiencing before the Change?" Derek asked, almost too eagerly.

"Well, before you undergo the Change, you last a couple of days with an immense fever. You haven't been looking ill, so I take it maybe perhaps you're not going to undergo it anytime soon." Derek's face fell. "In a way, though," she continued, "I guess this is good. I mean, the first time is the most painful, since your body doesn't know how to respond to the Change. Transforming to and from the wolf stage can be difficult."

"But, at the same time, I want to undergo the Change so I can get it over with," said Derek. Mary nodded.

"That's true." The two were silent for a while before Derek began talking again.

"I think the reason why it's taking so long for me to undergo the Change is, not because I'm willingly resisting, but because there's something about me that's _genetically modified_." Mary's eyebrows knitted together.

"Genetically modified?" she repeated. Derek nodded.

"I mean, don't get me wrong; I hate that I can't maintain the human part of me no matter how hard I try. I'm always going to be different. But, now I'm even different from the werewolf part of me too."

"How do you know you were genetically modified?" asked Mary.

"I grew up in the Edison Group labs," he said softly.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about the Edison Group?" said Mary.

"Simon and I lied. We didn't really know you then. We couldn't just blow everything we knew to a stranger. But, obviously we're closer now, and we know a lot more than we probably should." Mary knew he was referring to that night she'd showed him the Change with her own body, the night they'd spent together undetected.

"Anyway, I grew up with four other werewolf pups. They were wild, and I, of course, was the odd one out. I wasn't as wild or violent as they were. I was quiet and was sometimes afraid of the others." Mary smiled sadly and grabbed for his hand. Derek looked down at it and grazed the surface of her hand, finally entangling his fingers with her own before continuing. "They got into some real big trouble and were sent off. Back then, I didn't know what the scientists were going to do to them, but now I know. They killed them.

"All four of us were experiments, and those three wild pups were fails. Later on, though, Simon's dad came and met me, liked me, and took me as his own son."

"So _you_ were adopted into _Simon's_ family," Mary said with a wide smile. Derek chuckled.

"Yeah, _I'm_ the foster brother. But since Simon and Dad aren't werewolves, I couldn't fully understand what I was. Dad could tell me all that he knew, which wasn't exactly much, but it was enough for me to know that I was long overdue for the Change. The Change usually happens when one hits puberty, doesn't it?" Mary nodded. "I hit puberty long ago, probably before I should have, even. No Change. I'm still human, but I reek like a dog. I still get rages and animals hate me. I don't feel accepted in either race. I don't belong."

Mary wrapped her arms around Derek's middle again and sighed as she pressed the side of her face against his chest. She didn't care if Mrs. Talbot was watching, or that she was already on her way outside to break them apart.

"You belong with me, Derek. That's all that matters," she whispered with a smile.


	12. Chapter 11, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this. I've been on a writing frenzy with _The Dark Secret_. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the delay. ^-^ Enjoy, and please review. Thaanks! (:

* * *

**Chapter 11.**

Derek had been hunched over his math book, furiously scribbling down the answers to the problems Miss Wang had given him. Simon sat at the desk on his side of the room, working on English homework. Ever since Mary had told him he belonged to her, he never stopped thinking about her. He worked on his homework extra fast so he could spend time with her, making up the excuse that she needed help on her math again.

He scribbled the answer to his last problem before slamming his book shut and scraping his chair back. Simon looked over at him, his arm hanging off the back of the chair.

"Ready to 'go help Mary with her homework?'" he teased. Derek rolled his eyes. "What? I think it's great you're hanging out with her."

Derek stood from his chair and stared at his brother's grinning face. After a few moments, Derek managed a small smile of his own.

"You're turning into a ladies man, bro. I'm so proud of you."

"Shut up, Simon," Derek grunted with an eye roll and left their room. He walked down the hall to Mary's room. It was quiet, so she was probably doing her own homework. That, or she was reading one of those magazines she'd lifted from the gas station before she came to Lyle House. He poked his head in and saw her flawless figured sprawled on her bed, her legs bent at that knees with her ankles crossed in the air. Her palms held her cheeks as she looked down at the glossy pages of the magazine.

"Hey Derek," she said without looking up at him. Derek smiled and walked inside. Mary turned a page and still kept her eyes glued to the magazine. Derek didn't mind though; this gave him time to admire her again. His green eyes traveled down her body, tracing her features, her large breasts, the form of her legs. He secretly liked how all of her clothes molded perfectly with her body. Today she sported a pair of short shorts that only had enough material to cover her rear and a green v-neck that matched her eyes, her cleavage clear while she lay on her stomach. Her long black hair was pooled over one shoulder and she occasionally flicked her slanted bangs out of her face to keep from shielding her eyes. Even though it was still winter, Derek knew that Mary was capable of wearing clothes that didn't fully cover her body, since she didn't need the warmth regular humans needed.

She finally looked up at him, one of her eyebrows arching. "So, how long are you going to stand there checking me out, hmm?" she asked. Derek blushed.

"What are you talking about?" Mary rolled her eyes and chuckled as she rolled onto her side, propping her elbow up and creating a pedestal for her head with her hand, her fingers tangling in her own hair.

"It's okay. I check you out too, sometimes," she said. Derek's cheeks blushed even greater. She patted the area on her bed, beckoning him to sit with her as she sat up herself.

"Finished with your homework already?" she asked. He nodded.

"I see you haven't even started yours," Derek said. Mary knitted her eyebrows together.

"What makes you say that?" she asked. Derek tilted his chin towards her messy desk, her homework books still closed and blank paper strewn all over them.

"That does," he mentioned. She turned and followed his gaze.

"That proves nothing," she said defensively. He arched an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" Mary leaned into his face, her nose touching his, eyebrows narrowed and a smirk spread across her face.

"Really. What are you going to do about it?" she taunted in a whisper. Derek grinned slyly and ran his hand over her thigh, grasping her leg in his large hand. Another hand was placed on her waist as he leaned in to press his lips against hers for a brief peck.

"I believe a punishment is in order," he teased. Mary placed her hands on his shoulders and arched her eyebrows.

"Wow, Derek. I didn't know you could be so kinky," she laughed.

"I didn't either," he admitted and collided with her lips again, moving fast and eager. Derek felt Mary's dainty hands squeeze his brawn shoulders, making his own hands around her tighten. He grunted numerously during their make-out session, absolutely loving the sound of her slight moans.

Suddenly, they both broke apart from each other, eyes wide and on the door. They'd picked up a scent that was nearing their way. Mary pushed Derek in the direction of her closet, stuffing him inside with force as he tried to make room for himself.

"You have so much crap!" he hissed. Mary rolled her eyes and sneered.

"Shut up. I do not," she snapped and shut the door. Draped in the darkness of the tiny room and surrounded by Mary's scent, he heard her bounce back on her bed. The footsteps grew louder and finally reached her room. Miss Van Dop stopped at her doorway.

"Mary, Dr. Gill is here to see you," she said. Derek narrowed his eyebrows.

"Just me?" asked Mary.

"Just you." He heard the springs of her mattress creak as she stood from her bed and padded towards the closet, stopping at the door. He heard the faint sound of Mary slipping on her shoes and the thuds they trailed towards her door.

"And, Mary?" Miss Van Dop continued. "Do you know where Derek went?"

He could practically hear Mary's heart pound in his ears, but she replied in a calm and casual tone. "No. Why would _I_ know where Derek is?"

"You spend a lot of time with him. We just figured he'd tell you his whereabouts." Mary scoffed.

"I'm his friend, not his mom," she snapped. Their voices grew fainter as they walked down the hallway and down the stairs. Derek opened the door and stepped out, sighing with relief. If Miss Van Dop had seen them together, things would surely go badly. He hated the fact that she already suspected something going on. His distaste turned to Brady. He wouldn't have put it past him if he'd told the nurses something. Just like he'd said to him, Brady knew he and Mary had feelings for each other.

Derek crept out of Mary's room and walked down the stairs towards the living room. He picked up the old Xbox controller, but didn't yet turn on the system. He really wanted to hear what Dr. Gill had to say to Mary.

He waited until a nurse saw him inside the room before leaving it. He slinked towards Dr. Gill's office and hid in the shadows, placing an ear to the wall like he had last time. Their voices were clear, as if he were in the room with them.

"Have a seat, Mary," Dr. Gill said earnestly. Some silence, and then the creaking of a couple of chairs.

"Why am I here? I was just in your office, like, yesterday," said Mary.

"Actually it was Wednesday. That was two days ago," corrected Dr. Gill. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Why am I here?" demanded Mary.

"Mary, do you remember when we first met, and I told you that you needed to keep away from Derek Souza?" she asked. Derek's teeth bared, but he managed to keep calm. He heard a scoff from Mary, and then Dr. Gill continued. "You haven't done as I asked, have you?"

"Derek's my friend. What can I say? Why would you tell me to stay away from him? Because you're afraid that he'll put ideas in my head because I'm some sort of psycho? I'm not, and he doesn't. Why the hell do you even care?"

"I care because I'm trying to help you get better, Mary. You have a very serious situation. Your psychological trauma isn't healed. It will probably never heal, but we can help it. Remember what I said, Mary. Your mind is feeble and weak and will accept anything anyone tells you." Derek heard a humorless laugh which clearly belonged to Mary.

"Oh _please_. If my mind was so _feeble_, then I'd believe the bullshit you're feeding me," she said.

"_Mary_, the language."

"Derek's not telling me anything. We're _friends_. Aren't I allowed to have friends here?"

"Of course, but considering Derek could really harm you, it's better if you stay away from him."

"Then again, I ask you—why am I here at this group home?"

"Actually," began Dr. Gill, "as we speak I'm in the process of finding you different accommodations. You've proven to me that even at your age you are not responsible to do as I ask."

Derek's heart beat wildly. Different accommodations? Dr. Gill was taking Mary away from Lyle House? His breath caught in his throat. If Mary were to leave, he'd go crazy, literally. His rages would be out of control. He felt attached to her. If she were to leave, a part of Derek would be leaving too.

Mary was silent afterwards, which told Derek that she was just as against this idea as he was.

"You're taking me out of the group home?" she finally asked in a whisper.

"It appears I have no choice but to take you out. Perhaps a mental ward that keeps you solitary for the time being, but is an overall nice place. After all, I care about your happiness."

"If you cared about my fucking _happiness_ then you wouldn't be doing this to me!" shouted Mary in a roar. Derek felt the malice in her tone and heard her heavy breathing.

"Mary, have you been taking your pills?" asked Dr. Gill warily. "Every day during your three meals?"

"Yes, I've been taking your stupid fucking pills. I don't know why; they aren't _doing_ anything for me. Do you know why? Because I'm a _werewolf_, and that's _why _I have these violent rages."

"Mary, please sit down. We're not going to go through the werewolf thing again. I told you, werewolves don't exist."

"They do so! Would you like me to _show _you?" she snarled. Derek knew this was getting out of hand. Mary was losing control of her awareness. She couldn't possibly Change at that moment.

Suddenly, Derek heard the sound of a drawer opening and the popping of a disposed cap.

"What are you doing?" asked Mary.

"It's for your own good, Mary," Dr. Gill said.

"Keep that shit away from me!" she screamed. Derek heard fast footsteps from both females, and then a heavy _thud_. He couldn't help himself. He burst into the room, Dr. Gill puncturing Mary's skin with a needle.

"What did you do?" he cried.

"She was getting to out of hand. She'll be fine, Derek. Why are you here, anyway?" she asked. Derek was infuriated by her calm tone.

"I heard screaming—Mary's screaming," he said. Dr. Gill knitted her eyebrows together.

"The walls are soundproof," she mentioned. Derek breathed heavily as his worried eyes averted back to Mary's limp body on the ground. Her eyes were shut and she looked as if she was in peace, but Derek's gut knew that she wasn't.

"What's going on here?" he asked her. Dr. Gill stared at Derek for a short while before producing the most false smile he'd ever seen.

"Nothing, dear. Nothing."


	13. Chapter 12, Mary & Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Awesome. Got another chapter out! Okay well, I shall be writing lots more tomorrow. (: Enjoy the chapter and review please! Thanks bunches. ^-^

* * *

**Chapter 12.**

A strong sterile scent burned her nostrils and her eyes flew open. She gasped and leaned upward, but her body was strapped down. It was then that she realized she had been lying on a cold metal table, her wrists, ankles, and chest strapped with thick leather belts. Mary struggled to free herself, grunting and writhing, but to no avail.

She tried to remember how she had gotten here, but the only thing that came to her was being in Dr. Gill's office, losing control of her temper because she was going to be taken away from Lyle House, from Derek. This was her punishment for not keeping away from him like Dr. Gill instructed.

Then there was the needle Dr. Gill was coming at her with; a sedative, but a strong one at that. She could remember Derek's scent just outside of the room, and her screaming at Dr. Gill to get away from her with it. She wondered why Derek wasn't coming in to help her. Finally, she felt the needle puncture her skin, and Derek's scent was gone. Her eyesight blurred, and the last thing she remembered was hitting the floor and blacking out.

So she hadn't been aware when she'd been brought here. Mary looked around her. Her surroundings were nothing but white, except for the table she was stuck on. A long mirror took up almost an entire wall, and there were counters of equipment that would have been found in a doctor's office, or a laboratory.

Her heart began to race. She couldn't be back at the Edison Group's lab, could she? Mary tried to sniff out scents, but the sterile smell was so overpowering that it hurt to breath. Her body was limp and weak, and she couldn't ever remember feeling so powerless. She tugged at the leather bands around her wrists again, falling weaker with each attempt.

Mary considered going through the Change, but her wolf body wouldn't have helped her escape the bonds. She growled and roared like a true beast in frustration, and blinked back the tears that were forming at the edges of her brilliant green eyes. There was nothing more Mary hated than being confined and bound. She longed for her freedom again.

Then, suddenly, a sensation of nausea overcame her, and she wasn't sure if it was because of her extremely sickening sterile environment, or maybe the sedative Dr. Gill injected her with. Had they given Mary any other meds while she was asleep? Could her nausea be because of the meds Dr. Gill had prescribed to her? Mary didn't know and her mind was growing fuzzy. Suddenly, before she even knew it, she was tasting bile in her mouth. She turned her face so that it spewed onto the white floors. Mary's breathing grew rapidly heavy and she cried out.

The door to the white room opened immediately and footsteps rushed inside. Some were people she'd never seen, others vaguely familiar from when she'd been here at the lab her first time, but everyone was dressed in a white lab coat.

"What's going on with her?" asked one woman frantically. Mary felt the bile rise again.

"Could the medication be making her sick?" another asked.

"Perhaps it's the lycanthropy that's rejecting the injection," mentioned a man.

"Get her a bucket," said a second woman, however one with more authority. "Somebody get Marcel in here."

Marcel? The name was familiar, but Mary's mind was so cloudy that she couldn't put her finger on where she'd heard it. She'd recalled seeing the leading woman as well.

Mary's head rolled back and forth on the table as the group of white-coated adults crowded around her, like she was a test subject. The woman in charge was instructing the others to gather her some supplies, and she was then handed a stethoscope. She put it in her ears and then placed the round metal tunable diaphragm on Mary's chest. Mary looked down and realized she was in a hospital gown.

The woman shushed her gently as she measured her heart rate. Suddenly, she brought the tunable diaphragm down to her stomach, and Mary's heart really began to race.

"Why … are you putting that … there?" she rasped. The doctor ignored her, but took the stethoscope out of her ears.

"Everything sounds okay," she said to the other white-coats. "Give her another sedative until Marcel comes. Don't make it as strong this time, though."

Mary struggled in her place as she saw a man flicking a syringe with the designated sedative. She pleaded, she snarled, she tried to bite at him, but somebody snapped her jaw shut, and the man stuck the needle into her arm. Slowly, everything began to fuzz again.

"Dr. Fellows, what was the reading for the babies?" she heard a woman ask the doctor who had measured her heart rate. Mary was already knocked out to hear the doctor's answer, or to even ask herself what _babies_ she was talking about.

o o o o

Derek awoke that night, gasping for breath. He ran his hand through his hair and bit down on his lip. It wasn't until he heard Simon's voice that he knew he was also awake.

"You're trembling, bro," he mentioned, his eyebrows knitting together. "And you're sweating like a maniac. You're not okay."

"She's gone, Simon," he whispered, almost choking on his words. "She's gone."

"I don't understand why they took her," Simon said, shaking his head.

"Because that psycho bitch told her to stay away from me and she didn't. They told her because of her trauma that I was going to feed her bullshit, because we're experiencing the same symptoms. Do you know why that is? It's because we're the same fucking species!" he shouted, almost yanking his hair out as he threw his fists to his bed, clenching his bed sheets. His legs hung over the side of his bed and he buried his face in his hands. He didn't have to look up to know Simon was coming to sit next to him.

"I know. It's stupid. But we can go after her as we search for Dad. Kill two birds with one stone," suggested Simon. Derek lifted his face from his hands, staring at his brother with tear-stained eyes. This was rare for Derek. He normally sported no emotion, but after meeting Mary, he figured it all changed.

"They probably know," he said softly. Simon's expression turned to puzzlement.

"What do you mean?"

"The nurses. They probably figured out about Mary and I. What we did …"

"What … did you do?"

Derek sighed heavily before he responded. "I had sex with her, Simon. She … she was undergoing the Change and … and it just happened. She wanted me to see her Change from wolf to human, and she wasn't wearing any clothes, and she crawled on me and … it just happened."

Simon stared at him in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. Derek shook his head.

"I don't know how they could have figured it out. No one was there, and it was in the dead of night, but if they sent her away, they had to have known something was up between us. Even Brady suspected something, and, despite what he says, the guy _is_ a moron." He continued to shake his head. "This is all my fault. I finally fall in love and she's taken away from me. I should have never let my emotions take control. This is all my fault."

Simon was silent for a while, and Derek figured it was because he was disappointed in him. However, his response surprised him.

"Derek, how the _hell_ could you believe this is your fault? Did you announce to the entire world that you two had a thing going on? No. This is not your fault, or Mary's fault, but it's because Dr. Gill and everyone else who's involved with the Edison Group are so stupid that they think they could just do whatever they want with lives like ours. You loved her; that's _normal_ for a teenage boy. She was taken away from you, but not because you did anything. So, if you really loved her like you say you did, you'd get your ass up right now and we'd leave to go find her, and Dad, of course," said Simon.

Derek knew he was right, but his gut told him they couldn't leave yet. He was afraid for his brother. Derek could take care of himself, but it was hard to take care of his diabetic brother as well, especially because he didn't have the same acute senses Derek possessed. Simon had his magic, but he could only use it for offense. Derek was well with hiding himself, sniffing out people's scents, and recognizing if danger drew near. If they were going to sneak out, the nurses would surely find out in less than a day and send a team to search for them, especially because they were genetically modified subjects—well, _he_ was genetically modified.

"We'll go out and find her," he agreed, "but not tonight. We've got to plan this out, especially if we're going to find Dad on the way." Simon sighed, but nodded.

"Right. Okay. You think you could get a hold of Mary's scent to trace?" he asked. Derek narrowed his eyebrows and stood from his bed, creeping towards Mary's room, Simon following.

Derek hadn't been in her room since that afternoon before she'd gone to Dr. Gill's office, the afternoon he'd hurried with his homework and left to make-out with her on her bed. He could still taste her lips on his, taste the tongue she ran over his teeth with. He felt his body grow warm as remembered the way her hands felt on him, squeezing his shoulders with yearning. Derek's fist clenched tightly and he stood in the middle of her room. It still smelled like her, even though all of her belongings were gone.

"What's that?" Simon whispered, pointing towards her bed. Derek followed his gaze and noticed a dull glint on the floor. It was small, as if it were hiding underneath her bed. He walked over to it and grabbed it, pulling it from underneath her bed. It was a chain, a golden chain, that had seen better days. Derek had never seen this before, but Mary's scent was all over it, so he knew it was hers. Hanging off of the chain was a golden heart, bearing the engraved marking of a cursive F in the middle.

"An F?" inquired Simon.

"Fiona," answered Derek in a whisper. Simon's eyes widened and he looked back sadly at the heart. "It was her mother's." Derek's gut wrenched as he was reminded of how Mary missed her mother so dearly. Thinking about the memory made the tears stream down his face. It just proved to him how much he missed his Mary.


	14. Chapter 13, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Merry Christmas, everyone! My internet connection is being a complete butthole so it took me like, ten freakin' minutes just to upload this document. JEEZ! Dx Well, enjoy and please review. Thanks! (:

* * *

**Chapter 13.**

Mary's bright green eyes opened to very different surroundings than she'd last witnessed. She was no longer strapped to the metal table, but instead was laying comfortably on a fluffy bed, a bed that felt a whole lot better than the lumpy mattress she slept on at Lyle House. She sat up and pressed her palm to her forehead, running her fingers through the black fringes that swept across her forehead, brushing them back from her face.

The room she was in resembled quite accurately a hotel room, and eyebrows knitted as to why she was here. The floor was a nice red shag carpet with red wallpapered walls. Her nightstands carried pleasant lamps and she had both a walk-in closet and armoire. A couple of armchairs lingered about the room, surrounding a mounted flat-screen television on the wall.

Suddenly, it dawned on Mary that this had been _her_ room from before she'd arrived at Lyle House. She was still with the Edison Group. Her gut churned and her blood curdled. Suddenly the lumpy mattress in her room at the group home sounded more appealing than the comfortable room she was in. At least there she had Derek.

She looked down at her body and realized she was no longer donning the hospital gown. Instead she was wearing her shorts and green v-neck, the clothes she'd been sporting before she was knocked out by Dr. Gill's sedative. Sighing heavily, she bowed head, her black mane of chopped layers falling over her shoulders. She hugged her bodice and shut her eyes, squinting them tightly and praying this was all a dream, that she was really snuggled next to Derek's powerful body, draped with his large arms tightly around her, smelling his unusually familiar scent, despite the body odor he struggled to maintain. Mary really didn't care about that, though, especially because she suffered the same dilemma. Perhaps that was why it didn't bother her, his body odor. Besides, it had been getting better. He wasn't smelling as strongly as he did before, but his werewolf scent was still strong.

She realized that she had never missed anyone as much as her mother, but she felt so empty without Derek's hands on her. She missed his large, calloused, warm hands, how he usually hesitated before grazing her bare skin with his fingers, but how she always welcomed it. She wanted to kiss him, to be underneath him, running her fingers through his matte black hair and entangling them in it. She wanted to feel his hot breath in her mouth, to feel her tongue embraced by his own, to see his nervous and embarrassed face whenever they began to kiss, but then growing more confident as their kiss progressed.

Mary hadn't realized she'd been crying silently until the door to her room clicked and the knob turned. She quickly wiped her cheeks and narrowed her eyes at her visitors. A tall man and the same woman with the stethoscope appeared at her door. Mary's eyebrows knitted together.

"Hello Mary. Long time, no see, wouldn't you say?" chuckled Dr. Davidoff. "How are you doing?"

"Why am I here?" she demanded. "I've done nothing wrong." Dr. Davidoff exchanged glances with the woman and sighed heavily. His welcoming smile slightly altered.

"I'm afraid you are incorrect, Mary," he said. "We've heard reports about you disobeying Dr. Gill's requests."

"Because I made friends with Derek? This is why I'm here? You guys are all full of it," Mary snarled, crossing her arms. Dr. Davidoff pursed his lips and shook his head.

"You're here because you were more than just _friends_ with Derek," he said. Mary's eyes widened. How had they found out? Did that big mouth Brady blab to one of the nurses?

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Mary, have you and Derek been involved in any inappropriate conduct?" inquired Dr. Davidoff. "You won't be in trouble. We just need to know."

Her heart was beating quickly. Somebody had seen them. Somebody had known about the two of them being together.

"Please Mary. You don't need to lie to us," said the woman gently, entangling her fingers together in front of her.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about. Why would I do _anything_ like that with Derek?" she snapped. Dr. Davidoff sighed again.

"Because you're pregnant, Mary," he said, "and we taken a paternity with blood samples we kept from when Derek resided here."

Mary gasped and was speechless. She immediately felt the tears stream down her face. She was _pregnant_? She felt the bed crumble beneath her and imagined herself falling. One horrible thing was leading to another. They didn't want Mary to stay away from Derek because of what he could possibly tell her, but because they could possibly get pregnant. But why only Derek? Mary could have gotten pregnant with any of the boys, not that she wanted to, but they made no warning against it. Perhaps they already had seen a connection between Mary and Derek.

"It's because we're werewolves, isn't it? You didn't want a bunch of puppies running around all over the place," Mary said softly. She turned to the woman doctor. "And you said there I was having _babies_, as in, _more than one_."

"Yes, Dr. Fellows did see more than one child inside of you," said Dr. Davidoff. Mary gulped and she was feeling weaker than before, even without sedatives.

"How many?" Dr. Fellows slightly smiled.

"You're having twins," she said gently.

"Twins," Mary repeated in a whisper. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, bending over and bowing her head again. She heard footsteps draw near her and realized that both doctors were sitting beside her on her bed. Dr. Fellows draped an arm around her, like a comforting parent.

"Don't worry, Mary. We're going to take care of you here. Your children will be safe," soothed Dr. Davidoff. Mary could hear the deceit in his words. The people here meant nothing but harm and misery. After all, Derek himself had said they had experimented on him. He was genetically modified, and he figured it was the reason why he hadn't undergone the Change yet. Mary knew it was abnormal for an adolescent werewolf to not go through the Change. It's just like a teenager never going through puberty. She hated the doctors here for doing _anything_ to her werewolf, so she most certainly couldn't trust them with her.

She lifted her gaze and backed away from the both of them, pressing her back against the headboard of her former bed. Both doctors looked at her strangely.

"I know what you did to Derek, and it's because of you that he can't undergo the Change and live a normal werewolf life. How can I trust you with me or these babies?" she snarled.

"You don't understand what we do here, Mary. You are not a part of this group. But you really do not need to worry. We _promise_ to keep you safe."

"_Bullshit!"_ she screamed and, quicker than the adults could see, Mary jumped from in between them to the floor, crouching like a tiger. "I can't trust _any _of you liars. If I learned one thing from my bastard father, it's how to survive, and I know I can't survive trusting people with the likes of you."

"Your father was insane; you said it yourself," Davidoff reminded.

"Yeah, but so are you," Mary snapped back, rising to her feet.

Dr. Davidoff turned to Dr. Fellows before turning back to Mary with a final request.

"You must settle down, Mary. We'll have to take action if you don't settle down. It would be unwise to go through the Change right here. There are cameras and security guards around almost every corner. You can't escape," he said.

Mary barked a humorless laughter, and it hissed into a growl, baring her teeth and her eyes darkening with fury. "As if I'd listen to you. I don't care what you'll do. _Never_ underestimate a fully Changed werewolf."

Her body began to tremble and her skin rippled. Her growls grew louder and she stretched her limbs out. Her fingernails were extending into claws and her eyes were shrinking into bright green canine eyes. Her head shook back and forth and the doctors could see points shifting through her hair. They were the becomings of a set of wolf ears. Her human ears were shrinking and her body was contorting into an unnatural shape.

"Lauren, get the sedative ready," said Dr. Davidoff as he inched towards Mary. She snarled at him viciously, her face already contorted into the form of a canine. Her Change was performing quickly, and Davidoff knew she was a highly experienced werewolf. Mary saw the surprise etching across his face. An inhumane chuckle escaped her throat, as her vocal chords were still intact.

"Surprised at my power, Davidoff?" she asked with evil amusement. "Didn't I tell you my father is the Alpha in his pack? He's the strongest werewolf in all of Montana. I only learned from the best."

She launched towards Davidoff, her claws extended and reaching for his face. Suddenly, a drawer from Mary's armoire hurdled towards her, striking her to the ground.

"Now, Lauren!" shouted Davidoff. "Before she gets up!"

Mary saw the woman hurry towards her, another dripping syringe in her hand. Mary roared in her face, startling the woman before she injected the sedative into her leg. Mary struggled some more, swiping the doctor's bare knee, her blood immediately pooling out and onto the carpet, before she finally fell weak again.


	15. Chapter 14, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Sorry for the filler-esque style of this chapter. D: I didn't really know what to write for Derek's chapter. Mary's chapters are all planned out. (: So get ready to read lots of drama in her department. Enjoy the chapter and please review. Thanks. ;D

* * *

**Chapter 14.**

A couple of months had passed since Mary had left Lyle House. Derek was even more grumpy than ever; it seemed that each day that passed without her, his mood grew heavily depressed and angry. He remained quiet during meals and only grunted brief answers to anyone when asked a question. The only person he really talked to was Simon, but even he didn't really keep up conversations either.

What really annoyed Derek was how the nurses acted as if Mary had never been at Lyle House. They pretended she didn't even exist. They tried to erase her existence from the boys's memories. Little did they know that Mary had made too big an impact on all three of their lives, particularly Derek's. Around his neck was clasped the golden necklace that belonged to Mary's mother, hidden underneath his t-shirts and sweatshirts. He never took it off. Not while he slept, not while he bathed, not ever.

He also noticed that his acne was returning with wrath, taking over his face and his shoulders. He was running low on Mary's magic acne cream, as well. His body odor was beginning to get stronger and stronger and he found himself taking more showers than he usually did per day.

The three boys sat in the living room, piled around the blank television, each as solemn as the other. The nurses knew something was wrong with them because Mary was gone, but, as Derek had already figured, they were trying to erase her memory from the home.

"I heard they were going to replace Mary with some other girls," Brady finally piped, playing with the tag attached to the couch pillow and folding it into tiny squares. Derek's eyebrows narrowed as he glared at the black screen of the television set. Simon's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"Really? Already? Jeez, way to make us feel better."

"Where do you think they took her?" Brady asked, now ripping the tag off of the pillow. Simon shrugged and Derek ignored him. Brady sighed. "Well, assuming she'll be let out to the real world, hopefully, we'll probably see her in some Playboy magazine, or, if we're lucky _Girls Next Door_." He couldn't help but smirk. Simon groaned and rolled his eyes. Derek turned his glare on her.

"Don't talk about her that way!" he snarled, pointing a finger in his face, grasping the neck of his shirt in Derek's other hand. "Mary isn't a slut, like those girls are." Brady raised his hands up defensively, and then pushed Derek away from him.

"Jesus, why the hell are you so protective over her? She's not your daughter or anything. Besides, you know she's got the body to be on one of those shows. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up as a stripper. I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you, Souza?"

Derek held up his fist, but Simon was there to hold it from releasing on Brady's face and destroying him. "Derek, don't listen to him. Brady's a dumbass, remember?" Brady looked taken aback.

"I'm not going to let him insult Mary, especially not in front of me," Derek snarled, baring his teeth.

"Brady, shut up and get a life. We know you wish you would have gotten into Mary's pants before she left, and you know she wouldn't have let you. Get over yourself. Mary's not a slut," Simon snapped. Brady glared at him and Simon clapped a hand on Derek's shoulder. "Come on, bro. Let's get out of here. Leave Brady to his fantasies."

Derek's green eyes gleamed with hatred as they pierced through Brady's own. He stood, towering over the both of them, and followed Simon out of the living room. He clenched the necklace underneath his hooded sweatshirt and growled.

"I can't believe he had the nerve to say that in front of me. He knew Mary and I loved each other. He was just jealous. Too bad I got into her pants before he did," Derek scoffed.

"Technically, Mary was wearing any pants—let alone any clothes—when that happened," corrected Simon, a small playful grin spreading across his lips. Derek narrowed his eyebrows, but then quickly lifted his stern gaze. His comment had brought some humor to their dampened moods. They climbed the creaky staircase and shut the bedroom door behind them, each separating to their own beds. Derek leaned up against the wall, tilting his head back and sighing heavily. Brady was eating at his mind again.

"I hate that he misses her," he admitted. "She's not his to miss."

"We all miss her, bro," said Simon. "You just miss her the most because you two actually went beyond friendship. That takes it to a whole new level."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Anyway, we should really talk about getting out of this place. To find Dad _and _Mary," Simon added. "I think the nurses have changed the security code the alarm systems, but that won't be too hard to figure out." Derek nodded.

"We have to prepare for a long journey," Derek said. "After we leave, they'll most likely send cops to chase after us. We'll need to find places to stay."

"We can look for old abandon buildings," suggested Simon.

"Yeah, that's what we'll have to do. And we'll have to lift food and other necessities, since we don't have money."

"Dang, this sucks. Too bad we don't have any money," sighed Simon.

"We'll have to make do with what we have, and what we can do. We'll have to do a lot of preserving."

"That'll be hard for you, considering you eat _a lot_," mentioned Simon. Derek leered at him.

"This isn't time to joke around. We should leave soon. We've waiting two months. Who knows where Dad is already and what's been happening to Mary?" Derek sighed heavily. "I just want to see them safe, but I know both of them can take care of themselves."

"I want to find them just as much as you do. Let's plan to leave soon," said Simon. Derek nodded in agreement.

* * *

A couple days later, Derek and Simon had soon come to learn that Brady had been right about the new kids coming to replace Mary. Derek's blood boiled. He didn't want to have anything to do with them. The nurses had no reason to take Mary away. They only took people away when there was something seriously wrong with them, and Mary was normal.

Derek had walked down the stairs and saw that a tall black-haired woman stood at the door, a smaller black-haired girl in front of her. The girl had a sour look spread over her face, an expression Derek already found irritable. He looked at the woman, who was clearly the girl's mother, and recognized a very faint familiarity about her, but he couldn't' place his finger on it. Probably someone he'd passed by when he was younger, or his mind was playing tricks on him and he'd actually never seen her before.

Simon appeared at Derek's side and he spotted the two unfamiliar females. He arched an eyebrow at them.

"Guess Brady was right," grumbled Simon.

The girl turned her gaze on Simon, and her eyebrows arched. Simon's face flushed and he grew a puzzled expression. Derek rolled his eyes at the both of them and pushed him towards the kitchen.

"That was weird. Did you see the way she looked at me?" Simon asked.

"Who?" asked Brady, sitting at the table, eating a bowl of sugar-free Cheerios.

"The new girl you predicted would replace Mary," Simon explained.

"She's here already?" he asked, peering out the doorway. "Is she hot?" Derek rolled his eyes and scoffed. Simon did the same.

"Wow, Brady," Simon sighed and picked out the sugar-free Cheerios from the pantry.

"What? I'm just curious."

"No, you're low," Derek grunted. Brady glared.

"Don't get all pissy just because your lover is gone. I miss her too, you know," he said.

"Yeah, I _do_ know. I don't' know _why_ you miss her, though. She hated you," Derek snapped.

"Bro," Simon warned. "Take it easy." Derek snarled at them both and stormed out of the room, stomping back up the stairs, not caring who heard him. He slammed the door to his bedroom, pounding his fists against the wall. He growled as he rested his head against the wall. Memories of Mary flooded through this head, and he felt the golden chain against his neck, the heart pressed against the skin of his chest. He was angry—angry at Brady, angry at Simon, angry at the nurses, at the Edison Group, at everyone.

"Derek, sweetie?" inquired a gentle voice from outside Derek's door. Mrs. Talbot's scent swam through his nostrils. "Is everything alright?"

He didn't want to talk to her. After all, she had been one of the people to help get rid of Mary.

The door opened and Derek looked up and saw the small elderly woman appear. Her face was contorted with sadness and worry, but Derek didn't buy it. He refused to believe her worry was genuine.

"What's going on, sweetheart?" she asked again, walking towards him. He was silent and stubbornly looked away from her. He curled up on his bed, bringing his knees to his chin. Mrs. Talbot sat at the edge of his bed, pressing her wrinkled hand against his jean-clad knee. He softly hissed and she quickly retreated.

"You sent her away," he snarled softly. Mrs. Talbot's eyes narrowed.

"We had to, Derek. She wasn't helping you get better, or herself for that matter."

"That's not why, and you know it," he grumbled.

Sighing, Mrs. Talbot stood and walked back to the door, solemnly looking at Derek's pitiful state. "We did what we thought was right. You can get better now." She closed the door and Derek glared.

"Yeah, once I get out of this prison," he muttered.


	16. Chapter 15, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Jeez, it took me forever to write this. And now my vacation is ending and I won't be able to write much anymore. D: Ahh gosh. I am _so_ not enjoying school. ._. Well, enjoy the chapter and please review. Thanks. C:

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**Chapter 15.**

After Mary's outburst, Dr. Davidoff instructed that she be constantly sedated and strapped down. After a month of this routine, he saw a change in Mary's behavior. She was seemingly losing her will to live, but perhaps that was because of the sedatives. She was always tired and only wanted to sleep, so the doctors stopped giving her sedatives and released her from the straps. She was free to wander around her room, to watch television and eat whenever she wanted. She just wasn't allowed outside her room.

Mary had been living in the lab for a little more than three months, and everyone noticed the change in her appearance. Her stomach was wide and she looked awkward with it because of her small height. Her hair had grown out long and wild from lack of taking care of it. Nowadays she did nothing but sleep, eat, and watch television.

The door to her room opened and Dr. Davidoff appeared, along with Dr. Fellows, her stethoscope hanging around her neck. Dr. Davidoff rapped on the door with his knuckles as he scanned the room for Mary.

"Hello, Mary. May we come in?"

Mary was slouching in an armchair, her feet perched on the coffee table before her, which was strewn with used napkins and tissues, empty cans of soda, and celebrity magazines. The television remote was pressed in between the chair and the seat cushion. A bottled water and large back of Cool Ranch Doritos was stuck on her other side, and she balanced a bowl of cereal on her round belly, using it as a table.

She grunted an okay and the two doctors walked inside. On the television was a Sy-Fy original series, something about vampires and werewolves. Dr. Davidoff grinned at the show.

"How silly those show producers don't know anything about your race, don't they?" he chuckled. Mary ignored him. "So, how are you feeling, Mary?"

"The same as I did yesterday, and the day before, and the week before, and the _month_ before," she replied, her voice hoarse.

"Honey, being depressed won't be good for the babies," Dr. Fellows soothed.

"Who cares? I don't want them," she snapped, stuffing her face with Doritos. Dr. Davidoff narrowed his eyes.

"Mary! How could you say such a thing?" gasped Dr. Fellows.

"I'm sixteen! Why the hell would I want a _baby_ now? Let alone _twins?_" Mary exclaimed, straining her voice. It had grown hoarse from the many nights she spent crying from her depression, depressed about how her life was falling apart. She was a teenage werewolf girl who was being held captive in a lab and was due to have twins in no less than six months. There was nothing to be happy about.

Mary felt the tears stinging the edges of her eyes as she fixed her gaze back on the television, the program now gone to commercial. She breathed heavily and took another bite of her cereal.

"I want an abortion," she said finally after a long moment of silence between them. Dr. Fellows gasped slightly and Dr. Davidoff's eyes widened.

"Mary!" she exclaimed.

"No Mary. We can't do that," he said.

"Why not?" she snapped, turning her head. They saw her beautiful green eyes dulled from her lack of will to live and she'd developed heavy dark bags underneath them.

"You'd be killing two innocent lives, Mary. Do you understand that?" Dr. Fellows said. "Two innocent _unborn_ lives."

"What does it matter to you? You've destroyed many innocent lives! Many innocent _born _lives," Mary snapped back.

"We won't let you get an abortion," Dr. Davidoff said firmly.

"Why _not_?" Mary screamed. She threw her bowl of cereal at the wall in front of her, the bowl shattering and milk and cereal flakes dripping off the wall. She struggled to get up and when Dr. Fellows reached to help her, Mary snarled and pushed her away. "My life is already destroyed. Why break me even more? What makes you think I have the capability to raise _twins_? I don't want to! I never wanted kids!" Mary was at her feet now, staggering towards the doctors. She gripped the back of the armchair for balance.

"Mary, you really should be sitting down. Here, I'll get someone to clean this up for you. You've got quite a lot of food and trash here," Dr. Davidoff mentioned.

"Well _duh_. I'm feeding for three: one werewolf teenager and two unborn werewolf babies. In case you didn't know, we eat a _lot_."

"Oh, we noticed," Dr. Davidoff said. He walked towards Mary and gently placed his hands on her elbows. "Come, Mary. Please get some rest. You've got quite a load there."

"I … _know_, dammit," she said, her breath heavy. Her hand wrapped around her bulbous belly and her face suddenly twinged with pain. Both doctors widened their eyes. "Aw hell … not again," Mary groaned as she doubled over. Dr. Fellows rushed to her side, getting her stethoscope ready. She pressed it against her belly, pulling Mary's old white t-shirt over it. After roaming the tunable diaphragm over her mound, she stood up straight and nodded.

"She's fine. She's just experiencing contractions. The babies are moving around a lot," Dr. Fellows said. She combed Mary's hair away from her face. "Dr. Davidoff is right. You need to sit down, Mary. And your depression is affecting the babies. You must cheer up. Everything will turn out okay."

Mary stared at her in disbelief. She refused to do anything the doctors told her. And why did they care so much about her babies anyway? They even _killed_ the lives of supernatural children because of their failed experiments, Derek even said so. He'd _been_ there when they'd taken away the three other werewolf pups that had gotten out of hand.

She yanked herself away from Dr. Davidoff and shook away Dr. Fellows's hand from her head.

"You guys can leave now," she said stubbornly. "I'll rest if you really want me too, and if it will get you guys off my case."

"Very well, Mary," sighed Dr. Davidoff. "But you must get the idea of having an abortion." Mary glared with hatred as they walked towards the door. The tears strolled down her face in angry as they left. She shouldn't have made love to Derek. She'd only done it once, and since she was pregnant, it _had_ to have been that one time that had fertilized her eggs.

"Why me?" she whispered to herself, tilting her head back. Her nails dug into the fabric of the armchair, lightly ripping the material. "My life is such a mess."

She had already lost her mother to her ragingly wild werewolf father, and because of that, she'd ran. When she thought things couldn't have gotten worse, she ran into that damn doctor who insisted she stay at Lyle House.

She choked back a sob when Derek's face flashed beyond her eyes. He was the only good thing that had happened to her life. She helped him understand himself and who he was, and he brought her joy and a purpose to her life. What was she without Derek?

Now she was here, back at the Edison Group's lab, pregnant and distressed. She was a slave to the doctors. No matter how hard she fought, they always managed to win. Them and their damn sedatives.

There had to be a way out. She remembered trying to come up with escape plans, but she couldn't get out. There was no doorknob on her door, there were no windows, and, just as Dr. Davidoff had warned when she first awoke in this room three months ago, there were security cameras and guards around almost every corner.

"But there has to be a way out," she whispered, closing her eyes, falling sleepy again. The television flashed with images before her, but the noise had seemingly drowned out in her thoughts.

"I have to get back to Derek."

Sighing heavily, she fell asleep, and immediately began dreaming—or rather, remembering—of that night she'd shown Derek the Change. She hadn't known what possessed her to agree to let him see her that way, but she did know that for quite a while she'd developed feelings for him, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it. After all, just as she told herself, she couldn't fall in love with a werewolf. All werewolves did for her was bring her trouble, and she still couldn't help but agree. However, not only did Derek bring her trouble, but he opened something in her heart.

She remembered his hands nervously grazing her bare skin after she'd shifted from wolf to human. She remembered pulling him over her so that she pressed her back into the grass while his almost-naked body hovered over hers, her hands grasping his shoulders. She remembered his green eyes widening with surprise as his black hair fell over his forehead. There was no more vivid memory she had than the night their love fully blossomed. The heat, the joy, and the pain were so intense in her memory. It was a completely different pain than what she'd experienced her entire life. And then, her memories immediately drifted back even further, back to her father, back to the abuse, to the fighting.

She remembered D. Jay's angry black eyes, always leering and seeking for a reason to beat her. Yet he always expected to be forgiven. That was what she hated most about him. He was so inconsiderate, and he began to wallow in his self-pity after he'd killed Fiona by drinking heavy booze. It also didn't help that he was already violent by nature even sober, but ever since her death, D. Jay seemed to live in between the stages of human and wolf, being a true wolf man. She cringed in her sleep at the memories of D. Jay's backhand against her face, of his teeth sinking into her skin, of his claws scarring her body. And she remembered fighting back, she remembered _learning_ to fight back. He didn't necessarily intentionally teach her to fight back, but he did. She used his tactics and his moves to fight her father right back. She backhanded him, sunk her teeth into his skin, and scarred him with her claws. She even remembered squaring off with him while in their wolf stages. The horrors a child only imagined Mary actually lived.

Her eyes flew open and she gasped, leaning forward, her hand immediately flying to her mound. Those memories were bad. And they only would have gotten worst. The last thing Mary wanted to relive was her mother's brutal death. It was clear to any moron, even Dr. Gill, that Mary did not have a nice childhood. It was anything but nice. Involuntarily she rubbed her belly and looked down. She didn't want to birth these kids, not only because she didn't want to be a mother, but she didn't want to bring them into her cruel and horrible life. Who was she kidding? She couldn't have a nice life. Not with Derek, not with a family, not with anybody. It would be horrible of her to bring these two babies into her life.

She had to have an abortion. If she brought them to the world, not only would they have a loser for a mother, but the Edison Group would probably do some experimenting on them. Pure werewolf babies. How could the group _not_ want them?

She needed to get out of the lab. Away from the scientists and to a doctor, one that would grant her an abortion. She'd put them up for adoption, but who would adopt a couple of werewolf twins? Mary knew that getting away from Dr. Davidoff and the others in the Edison Group was not only good for her, but for the unborn babies that could possibly become human lab rats.


	17. Chapter 16, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Yes! Got another chapter done! I'm on a role! And I'm watching my favorite _Twilight Zone_ episode! :D I kind of wish this was longer, though. /: Aw well! (: Enjoy the chapter, and please review! (: Thanks bunches. ;D

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**Chapter 16.**

As a couple more months passed and Mary's belly grew bigger, she devised an escape plan. What if she just ran for it? Her wolf form was faster than others. All along she'd been trying to devise a very tactical plan, but what if she just ran? Every once in a while her room was opened for new food and linens, and Dr. Davidoff wasn't the one to deliver them. Even pregnant, Mary could easily fight off a maid or a security guard. It was the doctors with needles she had to look out for.

She purposefully dirtied her bed linens and wasted her food. She couldn't take any with her anyway. She wouldn't be taking anything with her, nothing but the fur on her back. She'd be doing a lot of shoplifting after she left the lab, but that was nothing new for her.

A couple days later, the laundress came by her room, like a real hotel. Mary readied herself. She hid in her closet so that the security cameras could not see her undergo the Change. Luckily the walk-in closet was wide enough for her to Change. Her clothes exploded off of her body as she morphed into the large black wolf, jade gems shining in the dark. Mary listened for the laundress to open the door. She pushed the door open just the slightest and peeked out through the crevice.

In walked a small Hispanic woman, a very stereotypical hotel maid. Behind her followed a security guard, dressed in a uniform and carrying a gun, in case Mary were to jump out and attack, which was exactly what she was about to do.

The security guard looked around the room. The television was on, but he could not find a pregnant werewolf anywhere.

"Where is that damn little girl?" she heard him snarl. The Hispanic woman perked her head up from the bed she was undressing.

_ "¿Qué pasa?" _asked the woman. The guard looked back at her, his Spanish not fluent, but barely understanding what she said. He struggled to reply to her.

"Uh ... the girl here—_la chica_—she's missing. You know, _el perro_," he said. Mary's eyes narrowed. The maid looked around the room, a blank look on her face. She'd heard the Spanish he'd spoken, but the English had thrown her off. Mary thought it ridiculous to hire a Hispanic maid if nobody could communicate with her.

Mary saw the man reach for a walkie-talkie. "Hey. Yeah the girl's not here. I can't find her," he said into it. A static crackle came in return and another voice sounded.

_"We'll send some more men to your room,"_ said a man on the other end. Mary glared. She didn't have much time. It was now or never.

While the security guard was busy fumbling with the walkie, she pounced out of the room, jumping on the back of the man. He roared in pain as she swiped his face and bit his neck. He fell limp and she knew she'd killed him. She felt her gut twist, but she had to remind herself that if she hadn't killed him, he would have definitely killed her. The Hispanic woman shrieked at the sight of her and Mary knocked her off of her feet with a headbutt. She hadn't killed her, but did knock her out. Then, she darted out the door.

Mary was a sore thumb in the pure white halls. She heard footsteps running her way and she quickly turned the corner into another hall. How did she get out of here? She couldn't remember the exit. She didn't know what floor she was on. She saw the security cameras and knew more security guards than the man in her room had asked for would be coming after her. She ran passed many scientists, snarling and baring her teeth, but running too fast for them to reach for their syringes and sedate her. She almost felt free running through the halls. _Almost_.

She heard cries and shouts from the security guards chasing after her. And then there were gunshots.

_"Don't kill her!"_ shouted a familiar voice. Dr. Fellows's plead rang through Mary's ears, but it didn't slow her down. In fact, she ran faster. If Dr. Fellows was here, that must have meant that Davidoff was near. She knew there was something special about Dr. Davidoff. He was a supernatural too. It explained the drawer flying at her when Mary tried to attack him and Dr. Fellows. He'd been in control of that. He was what they called a _half-demon_. An _Agito_ half-demon. Hopefully she wouldn't come across him, but she had a feeling that she would anyway.

"She's still on the third floor, Marcel," she heard Dr. Fellows say into her own walkie.

_ Crap! The bastard's coming …_ she thought as she picked up the pace. She sniffed out any familiar scents, hoping she could find the stairs. A couple more hallways and she found them.

The guards were still running after her, shooting tranquilizer darts at her, but missing. Mary skidded down the stairs, catching the eye of the guards and even a worried Dr. Fellows.

"Mary! Please stop! The babies, they must be taken care of. _You_ must be taken care of!" she shouted after her, but Mary ignored her. Even if she could talk she wouldn't have.

She made it down the stairs and met head-on with a wall of guards. She turned the other direction and was met with another wall of guards. In addition to those following her down the stairs, she was barricaded.

_No … no … NO!_ she cried in her mind. She turned her head left and right, backing into a wall as everyone began to cave in on her. She snarled and barked, swiping her large claws at them. Her teeth snapped at them.

"Shoot her, already!" one of the unarmed guards shouted.

"No!" protested Dr. Fellows. "She's pregnant. I don't want too many darts in her system." She looked at Mary sadly. "Please, Mary. You're making a mistake. Don't do this. Don't run away. You won't survive."

Little did Dr. Fellows know that she _would_ survive. If anything, Mary knew how to survive in the wild than in a group home.

Mary snarled at her in protest of agreeing to stay. Dr. Fellows closed her eyes and shook her head, disappointed.

"You're making a mistake, Mary," she said again.

"Aw I'm just gonna shoot the damn wolf!" shouted a security guard. Mary's ears perked and before Dr. Fellows could shout _No!_ Mary dodged his dart. She scrambled along the floor, pouncing on the guard that had shot at her, clawing at his eyes. Her motion triggered the others to shoot at her, but she had already jumped over the wall of guards. Most of the darts hit their allies, but the others ricocheted off of the white walls. Mary's claws scratched against the floor and she was off, dodging the darts being shot at her using her ears.

Where was the bloody door? Mary felt as if she'd ran across the entire first floor, but she didn't slow. She was lucky she hadn't been hit with a dart, though a couple of them grazed her skin and very well almost stuck her.

Using her nose, she sniffed out the way to the entrance. A scent intercepted her search and she skid to a stop. She'd finally found the front door, but Dr. Davidoff stood in her way. Her heart pounded in her throat squaring off with him, but she didn't falter. She stood her ground, glaring at him, her teeth bared as she growled.

"You've been a bad girl, Mary," Davidoff said, clucking his tongue as he shook his head. Suddenly, her ears perked and she darted out of the way of a large block of plaster falling from the ceiling. Mary glared at him and roared. She sunk her teeth into as much plaster that would fit in her mouth and bit it off, throwing it back at Davidoff. He cast it aside with ease, but was caught off guard when he saw Mary flying towards him. She pounced on his chest and he fell back. With a grunt, he fell on his back and tugged at Mary's black fur, trying to pry her off of him, but she was stuck on him, her claws punctured into his skin. Her front paws were at work on his face, scratching and biting him.

"You … _bitch_!" he grumbled. "You can't get out anyway."

She stopped and breathed heavily through her nostrils into his face. Suddenly, she jumped off of him and crashed through the glass doors.

_"Mary!"_ she heard him cry and was immediately reminded of how her father called after her when she ran away from him.

Her heart pounded with joy in her chest as she felt the fresh air through her fur. She ran across the fields of grass the lay before her, heading towards a forest of trees in the distance.

_"MARY!"_

Davidoff's voice drifted off into the distance and, as she ran further from him, it became just a mere faint whisper. She had gotten away. She had gotten her babies away from the horrible Edison Group. They were safe. Mary knew how to run. The Edison Group wouldn't catch her again. She felt pride in her accomplishment.

_Alright guys,_ she said to her babies mentally_, we're on our own now. We're safe._ The words had never felt more sweet and promising in her life.


	18. Chapter 17, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Phew! This chapter's longer. (: Isn't it great that Mary's away from Davidoff? *sigh* I'm so happy for her. (: But, now she's on the run, so I guess that's not so good. At least she gets to be in her wolf state. Freedom comes with a price, Mary. Well, enjoy the chapter and please review! Thanks! :D

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**Chapter 17.**

The woodsy scent welcomed Mary with arms wide open as she became enwrapped by the darkness of the forest, walking into the threshold of trees. She panted heavily, leaning against as mossy tree trunk before crumbling to the ground. She'd done a lot of running, and a lot of dodging of tranquilizer darts. Her face met the earth and she dug her muzzle into it. She'd gotten out of that crazy ward. She didn't know if they'd already experimented a bit on her, but at least they hadn't touched her puppies. Sighing, Mary's eyes began to close, and she drifted off into a deep sleep, only to be awoken hours later by something disturbing.

She began to feel something leak between her legs, something liquid. She started to breathe heavily, whining and trying to keep her tone low. The liquid began to soak into her fur. She neared her nose towards the substance and instantly howled briefly. She was discharging blood.

Fear instantly swelled inside her body. She began to shift back to her human body so she could really see what was going on without all of her fur over her body. Blood trickled down her legs, smearing against her fair flesh. Mary's heart raced. Her fingers grazed the blood before placing both of her hands on her large mound. Five months pregnant, she mentally feared for her babies, even if she had wanted that abortion.

"I must be on my period," she said out loud to herself, "but pregnant women don't get their periods, do they? Besides, I'm not even cramping." She gulped and took a heavy breath. She could only come up with the conclusion that it was her period that was causing her to bleed, but, little did she know, that that was not the case.

"I don't want them born," Mary again said aloud. "I don't want to bring them to this world. If I'm miscarrying, then nobody can blame me. It'll be natural." She nodded and tilted her head back against the tree. "It'll be natural. Don't be afraid to miscarry, Mary. Please, miscarry. Don't let me bring them into this world."

Eventually the blood ceased and Mary traversed through the forest, looking for a creek or a small river to wash herself in. The animals around her stirred erratically when she passed, sensing the werewolf walking about them.

She finally came across a river where small deer were sipping from, but at the scent of Mary, they reacted maniacally and darted off. She was used to animals reacting this way. It was why they never could have animals on their ranch. She remembered her mother always wanting to fill the horse stalls and the barn with an abundance of farm animals, but D. Jay always refused. Mary remembered the one time Fiona bought themselves a white bunny rabbit when she was just a little girl—perhaps three or four. She smiled at the memory, remembering how happy she'd been seeing the furry creature. But the rabbit squealed and reacted so abnormal, as if it were afraid to be around her. Before Mary could even hold the rabbit for the first time, it ran away. It was after that that D. Jay said very firmly that they were not allowed to get any more animals, and Fiona obliged timidly.

Mary's smile had fallen during the remainder of the memory. She sighed and gazed down at her reflection. She almost jumped at the sight of her face. She saw her eyes turned dull and the heavy dark bags hanging underneath them. Her lips were pallid, almost the same color as her skin, and chapped. Her hair was wild, as if she'd been living in the forest for more than just some hours. Her bodily appearance had changed as well. She hadn't seen herself at all, since she became pregnant. In place of her stomach lay, what she though, a huge smooth tumor. Mary cringed at the sight of herself. Her breasts had also enhanced, much to her demise.

"Damn it. As if my boobs weren't big enough to begin with," she groaned.

Tired of looking at herself, she stepped into the shallow river, kneeling so that the water reached just the tip of her mound. The water immediately turned red as she bathed herself, splashing the water around her waist. Immediately, she was struck with another shock of pain in her abdomen. Mary's hands immediately flew to her mound as she cringed, doubling over in the water. She moaned and clenched her teeth together, breathing through her nose.

_"God,"_ she said through gritted teeth. "Being pregnant _sucks_. Thanks a lot, Derek."

Of course, Mary knew this wasn't Derek's fault. She'd been the one to seduce him into making love with her. She was rather mad at herself than Derek. Derek didn't even know, unless the doctors at the Edison Group lab told the nurses at Lyle House, who then told Derek, but, for some reason, Mary didn't seem that likely. They were good at keeping secrets, and they probably didn't want Derek to come running after her for her protection.

The contractions finally ceased and Mary sighed heavily. Had Derek escaped Lyle House and was looking for her right now? Or was he still at the home with the belief of never seeing her again anyway? The tears returned to her eyes and she didn't struggle to keep them from falling. Instead, she let them, and they strolled down her cheeks quickly, dripping into the river and making small ripples in the transparent red water.

An unwanted scent cut through the woodsy aroma of the forest suddenly, and distracted Mary from her depressing thoughts. She sat up, alert, and quickly climbed out of the water. She crouched on all fours, listening for any unnatural sounds.

Sure enough, the scent and sounds came together. Guards from the Edison Group had followed her into the forest. They dressed as soldiers in the military, their boots snapping every twig and small fallen branch in their step. Mary glared and her heart raced. She Changed into the black wolf and darted off, not bothering to shake off the water that clung to her now wet fur.

She cursed them for following her, but she knew it had been expected. They'd gotten there fast. Mary knew she had to be expecting vehicles chasing after her as well.

She delved deeper into the forest, where the animals got bigger and more dangerous, and she startled them all with her scent and presence. She cursed them, too, for making so much racket. Now the soldiers were bound to know where she was. At least deeper in these trees it was also darker, and her black coat camouflaged well with her surroundings.

She knew one thing; the Edison Group would _not_ take her back. _Ever._

Mary didn't want to hide anywhere she knew they would check, such as a cave, so she decided on a thick lush bush. It wasn't so big, but with Mary's type of body, she could easily hide in it. She slithered through the branches and made herself comfortable. She needed to wait for them to pass, and she also needed to rest. Despite her feelings towards Dr. Fellows, she knew that she'd been right about at least that, that Mary needed to rest and take it easy. Unfortunately, the life of a werewolf was never easy.

She absentmindedly licked her paw, cleaning herself, as she listened for the soldiers to draw near. Sure enough, they'd picked up the noises the wild forest animals had created, using them as a path to get closer to Mary. Davidoff must have informed them of how werewolves stirred other animals out of control.

"Split up," she heard one of the soldiers bark at his teammates. His scent was so strong as he stepped in front of her bush, the leather black of his boot marked with mud and blood. The scent tickled her nose. "The animals are still going berserk, so she must still be around."

"What about the blood in that pond?" asked another soldier. "We should check around there some more."

"No," the first soldier snapped. "The animals are calmer there. She isn't there anymore." Mary heard the clicking of a gun being loaded and she tensed. Judging by the scent of its ammo, she knew it was loaded with bullets, rather than tranquilizer darts. She knew it. If she didn't kill them, they'd kill her. She guessed that whatever Dr. Fellows had said about not killing her because she was pregnant hadn't fully gone through their thick heads. At least if she died, her babies would die as well, thus sparing them from entering the cruel world.

But Mary didn't want to die. Despite her horrid past and horrid situation present, she still wanted to live. Perhaps there was a chance that she wouldn't have such a horrid future. Now that she was out of the lab, out of Lyle House, away from D. Jay, perhaps there was a chance.

So, if there was a chance, why did she want to kill the babies?

She mulled it over in her mind. She didn't want them because she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to care for them. Mary thought she'd be a horrible mother, especially because she never wanted to be one. She couldn't put them up for adoption because the babies weren't even _human_, and they'd be brought right back to a lab like the Edison Group's. The only solution was an abortion, but as she thought about it, killing unborn babies sounded so wrong, so vile, so _inhumane_.

She thought of Derek, who so longed to grasp hold of his human half and be normal. She thought of her father, who lived to kill and taste blood. She thought of Dr. Fellows, who wanted her to keep the babies alive, to keep them away from danger. And then, finally, Dr. Davidoff's face emerged, his words echoing through her mind.

_"You'd be killing two innocent lives … Two innocent unborn lives."_

And she remembered her response right back at him: _"__What does it matter to you? You've destroyed many innocent lives! Many innocent _born_lives."_

She didn't want to become her father. She didn't kill for the hell of it; she killed when she was in danger, such as the guard that would have shot her in her room.

_What would Derek do? Derek wouldn't want a baby, let alone _twins_, _she thought. But he also wouldn't have wanted Mary to have an abortion either. He'd say abortion was inhumane, and she knew how he was against most things inhumane.

_ Aw fine,_ she thought stubbornly. _I'll at least _think_ about keeping them. But I've got to get away from these damn soldiers before I don't even get the chance to think about it!_

They lingered around a while longer, and Mary waited impatiently for them to leave. She tried to ignore the small contractions that stirred in her abdomen, raising her annoyance level.

_Stop moving! _she scolded mentally to her unborn twins, and they soon stopped, as if they had heard her.

Finally, most of the soldiers had trailed off. She backed away from the bush, her body low and scraping the floor. Suddenly, she got a wave of the first soldiers scent as he knocked the butt of his shotgun against her head. Luckily for Mary, it wasn't as powerful as the soldier had wanted his blow to be, so she remained conscience, but very angry.

"There you are, you little bitch," he snarled and Mary roared at him, pouncing on him and pinning him to the ground. He fumbled with the gun, but her body was pressed to hard against it that it remained useless against his chest. She swiped her paws against his face so harshly that his skin was peeling off of his face. He cried out in pain, pressing a dirty palm against his fresh wounds to stop the bleeding. Mary quickly pounced off of him and backed away. She could hear footsteps and shouts coming back towards them. She watched the soldier writhe in pain, reaching for his shotgun and struggling to aim it at her.

_"Fuck you … bitch!"_ he seethed. Mary growled and turned away just as the soldier shot—and missed miserably—at her. She jumped over the bush she'd been hiding in and ran off.


	19. Chapter 18, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Bah. I've really got to make my titles more diverse. This is the second time today I've mixed up _Everyone's Secret_ with _The Dark Secret_, two completely different stories from completely different fandoms! Grrs. Anyway, here's more Mary and company! Enjoy the chapter and please review. Thaaaaanks. ;D

* * *

**Chapter 18.**

After Mary escaped the soldiers that had been following—whom, she knew, still were—she continued to run towards vast, desolate landscapes, remembering what it felt like to be on the run, to be free from any closed walls. The air tickled her furry face, her tongue lolling out, and feeling the earth against the pads of her paws. She'd missed the outdoors. She hadn't been outside since that night she'd snuck out of Lyle House to stretch her body, the night she'd showed Derek the Change, the night she'd made love to him.

Shaking the memory from her mind, she focused on what lay before her. She was in a field of tall brown grass, most likely in the countryside. She'd ran for many days and nights, of course taking breaks for her babies's sake, but then quickly getting back on her feet. She drank water from streams and ate wild fruit off of bushes. Once she got back to civilization, she'd find herself some clothes and some people food.

She ran through the field, knowing her black fur was sticking out like a sore thumb. It wasn't until she reached a road and a couple of abandoned buildings that she realized her surroundings were appearing familiar. Cocking her head, she peered into one of the abandoned buildings, an old barn that was crumbling from rotting wood and termites. An electric fence separated it from the road, and she wondered why nobody would just tear the eyesore down. Perhaps they didn't want to waste any money demolishing a building that was already demolishing itself.

As she stepped inside, rays of light pouring in through the large cracks and holes of the barn, memories began to flood back to her, memories of this barn. She peered into a stall and saw a bed of hay, scratch marks etched into the rotting wood. The etches could have belonged to any animal if she hadn't remembered doing them herself.

This was the barn she'd hid out in when she'd ran from D. Jay, she remembered. The etches were how many days she'd been there. Thirty-two etchings. Thirty-two days before she'd left the barn and decided to move on. She couldn't live in a deserted barn forever. It was then that she remembered she'd moved on to find a new place to live, new stores to raid, new life from D. Jay.

Fear pounded through her body as she nestled in her old hay bed. She was back in Montana, which meant she was getting closer to D. Jay. Why was she back here?

She decided that after a night's rest, she'd continue on, going back to the town she was familiar with to get supplies. There was a gas station, she remembered, built in the middle of nowhere for people who could be passing through that sold some food and tourist shirts. Mary always felt a squelching feeling about those shirts, wondering if they were really as clean as they were claimed to be.

* * *

The gas station was a shabby old shack with only one drive and gas pump. It literally was built in the middle of nowhere, many miles away from where town actually started. Mary wandered over to the building, peeking through the dirty window to see if anyone was around. The owner, an older man wearing a stained white wife beater and trucker hat, was leaning in a wooden chair behind the counter, snoring with his mouth open, exposing his lack of teeth.

It was safe to go inside. She padded into the store, wary of the creaky floorboards. Towards the opposite side of the counter were where the shirts were. She approached the sole rack that carried the "I LOVE MONTANA" t-shirts, disgusted at them. With her muzzle, she quietly looked through them, not caring about the color, but getting the biggest size they carried. She needed the shirt to cover both her belly and her waist down.

She came across a 3X-large and tugged it off of the hanger. It clinked loudly against the metal pole of the rack at the store owner immediately awoke.

"Who's there?" he snapped, a country accent in his words, his voice hoarse and deep. Mary hid behind a counter of liquor as she heard the man leave his chair and walk around his tiny store. She was still grasping the shirt with her teeth as she breathed heavily, keeping low. If she had to, she'd take the man down.

Her heart raced as she heard a gun being cocked, her ears perking straight up. Now she _had_ to take him out. If he saw an abnormally large black wolf in his shop, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot it.

She contemplated whether she should just Change back into her human form. If the old man were to see a teenage girl rather than a large wolf, he'd definitely think twice about shooting her, especially if she was pregnant and naked.

But Mary didn't like the idea of some dirty old man's eyes lingering on her body, she stayed the wolf. Besides, she was more powerful in her wolf form. It was a lot easier to claw someone's eyes out with actual claws than fingernails.

The old man was drawing nearer, and Mary could hear the gun shaking in his feeble arms, as if it were too heavy for him to carry. Mentally sighing, Mary rounded the aisles and slinked along the wall, the small shelves hiding her from the man's eyes. Unfortunately, he'd seen a flash of black fur passing by, and he quickly turned around, shooting at nothing.

"Who's there, dammit!" shouted the cranky old man. "Whoever's there better get their ass out face me so I can shoot them into oblivion for hidin' in my shop! Ya'll better not be robbin' me!"

If Mary could talk, she probably would have started to laugh, even if the shotgun in his hands was threatening. But he was acting so ridiculous. His agitation was much enjoyed by Mary as she slinked towards the front door. It was better not to kill any more people, she thought. Best to leave the crazy old man at peace. At least she'd gotten some clothing.

With the horrid shirt in her mouth, she darted off for town. The sun blazed overhead, but Mary knew it would be setting soon. When it went down, if she reached town, she'd raid another store for a better change of clothing.

She'd raced the road a few more miles before she felt the contractions again. She growled and decided she needed to stop and look for a place to rest. Here there were a couple of trees that gave off the least bit of shade, but they'd suffice.

As Mary approached the tree, she began to shift back to her human form, immediately pulling the extremely large ill-colored shirt over her head. It fit just the way she wanted, though. The sleeves reached all the way to her elbows and the hem just above her knees.

"I'm definitely going to need better clothes," she sighed as she pulled at the nauseous green shirt. Other than being a good size, the only nice thing about the shirt was that it helped her blend in with the grass, which was becoming greener the closer she got to town.

Mary sat underneath the tree and leaned her back against the trunk, rubbing her mound absentmindedly. The contractions were almost gone, but she felt a wave a fatigue wash over her. Perhaps she'd take a brief nap before heading towards town, so she could raise her awareness.

"We'll just get what we need and get the hell out of here," she said aloud before dropping her gaze to her mound. "Hang in there, guys."

She'd have to be careful entering that town, especially at night. That town belonged to Mary's father, and his wolf pack, and werewolves were very overprotective of their territory. Any unfamiliar or unwanted scent would cause a disturbance, almost like setting off an alarm to them. However, Mary couldn't help but wonder if her scent would be noticed as unwanted. What if her father wanted to smell her scent? Either way, she wasn't going to stay long. She thought it was dumb enough to come to Montana in the first place, even if she didn't really realize she'd entered her home state, but she'd be recognized as even dumber if she lingered too long.

Her stressing over her father wore the babies out; Mary could tell. She felt them stirring, kicking at her like a gentle nudge. Her eyes widened and she rubbed her mound some more.

"Sorry guys. I didn't think my worrying would bother you so much," she said to them. She was quiet for a while before speaking more out loud to them. "Hey, I wonder what gender you guys are. If I'm going to consider keeping you guys, I guess I've got to name you. I wonder what names your daddy would think of …" Her voice trailed off as dread suddenly took over her body. She knew Derek wouldn't want babies. As if his life wasn't chaotic enough. He and Simon were on a mission to finding their dad, and Mary knew that finding out that Derek had a couple of kids would really stress him out. She bowed her head as she stared at the top of her large, round belly.

"Guess you two won't even meet him, then," she whispered sadly. She couldn't do that to Derek. As if the first thing he needed were a couple of twin babies. Shaking her head and fighting back the tears, she bit her bottom lip, praying that nobody would tell him about her pregnancy. She wasn't about to destroy his life and force him into fatherhood so soon. She had seduced the sex with him; this was her burden.

"It's just you two and me."


	20. Chapter 19, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Wow, finally I've finished this chapter. -_- Bah. Well, here it is. (: Oh, and I apologize for the bad language towards the end. Just telling you now. Mary is so not going through a good time right now. *sigh* Poor girl. D: Okay, well, enjoy the chapter and please review! ;D Thaaanks! ^-^

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**Chapter 19.**

The department store served Mary perfectly for her needs. Once the sun had gone down, she snuck into the store and hung around until closing time. When the store was completely empty, she went on a raiding spree.

The first department she went to was the women's clothing. Pulling clothes off the hangers and ripping off the tags, Mary peeled off the ugly green "I LOVE MONTANA" shirt and clasped on a bra and pulled on some underwear. She sighed with relief, glad that her human body wasn't so free anymore. She tugged a white loose v-neck that hugged her chest and pregnant mound, despite the large size, and slipped into a pair of black spandex pants, pulling them over her belly.

She wandered over towards the shoe section, debating whether to take any. Her feet were tough and calloused, and new shoes would only give her blisters, but she finally decided to take a pair of Converse shoes, thinking she'd merely throw them around to wear them out. She gathered quite a few pairs of socks before slipping on a pair so she could break in her new shoes.

She carried her clothes to the travel department, where she stuffed them into a hiking backpack. She grabbed a couple more supplies she thought she'd need before heading towards the food department.

Mary only packed what she'd be able to carry and what would last. She could heat up a can of soup over a fire, though it would require great patience, and she wouldn't care if a box of Twinkies went stale. Shoving some packaged food into her bag, along with some water bottles, she zipped it up and hoisted it onto her back. Weight wasn't an issue; even pregnant Mary could run around with an overstuffed backpack.

"Okay, guys," Mary said aloud to her babies. "We've lingered here too long. Time to go before we run into your douche bag grandpa." She rushed towards the entrance and, with a cringe, crashed through the glass doors, not because she felt pain, but because she anticipated an alarm, but there was nothing.

Mary's face contorted with confusion, but quickly shrugged it off. Today must have been her lucky day. She turned and ran away from town. She'd go south, she decided. Away from Montana, away from Lyle House, and away from the Edison Group.

_And away from Derek,_ she thought sadly.

A low, echoing chuckle tore her from her thoughts, the sinister tone sending a cold chill down her spine as she stood in the middle of the main road of town. Where had it come from? She sniffed out its source, but she could pick up nothing but earth and Twinkies.

"Well, well, look whose back," chimed a smug voice from behind her, footsteps crunching the gravel underneath them. Mary's ears perked up. The voice wasn't alone, but it also didn't belong to her father, which was a huge relief, however the male voice knew who she was, which wasn't any better news.

"Aren'tcha gonna turn 'round to look at us? Might rude to not look at the person whose talkin' to ya," said a second voice—the second pair of footsteps she'd heard. "Didn' yo momma teach ya anythin'?"

Mary's blood boiled at the sound of her mother's name being tossed around so lightly. She clenched her fists at her sides and slowly turned, still baffled as to why she couldn't catch their scent.

A couple yards away from her two men, werewolves, Mary knew, since they had known who she was and knew she was back from running away. She wouldn't put it past them if they were a part of D. Jay's wolf pack. In fact, Mary knew they were.

The first man who spoke out to her was a white man, thought tanned lightly from the sun. His hair was shaggy and blonde, and she noticed thick stubble aligning his chin and upper lip, like D. Jay's. His eyes were almond-shaped and as ocean blue. The second man was African American, and he also had a thick and brawnier build than the white man. His hair was buzzed and his eyes were dark and narrow. Mary recognized the desire that swam in them—he was hungry. Both men were dressed in ragged and torn flannels and jeans, each sporting a pair of mountain boots.

"Oh she definitely Miss Fiona's little girl," the black man mused.

"An' she's got Ralluber's scent all over her," the white man added.

Mary was baffled. Why couldn't she have smelled their scent? Her nose was exceptionally strong, and she would normally have been able to catch the scent of a werewolf. These werewolves were unfamiliar to her; their scents would have been off to her.

"So you are D. Jay's minions, aren't you?" Mary scoffed. "Well, sorry but I can't stay. Got to get going to places don't need to know."

"You ain't goin' nowhere, little missy," the white man said with a twisted smile. "Ralluber's on his way. Can't wait to see you, he said."

"Yeah, well you can go on and tell him that I can definitely wait to see him," Mary muttered.

Both men suddenly started walking towards her. Mary's face twisted with disgust, trying to hide her fear, and backed away. If she ran, they'd chase after her. She was fast, and even though the luggage she carried wasn't heavy to her, the fully grown werewolves would be a lot faster.

But Mary was also a fighter. If one of those werewolves so much as laid a hand on her …

"Well lookee here, Bryne," the black man said to the white. "Li'l Miss Ralluber's got herself quite a load there. Been foolin' 'round with lots o' them boys, haven't ya? D. Jay's not gonna be too keen on this."

Mary snarled at them, and they both chuckled.

"Looks like Li'l Ralluber's a feisty one."

"Shut up!" she snapped, baring her teeth. "I'm getting out of here, whether you or your douche bag leader like it or not. Nobody's gonna stop me." The grinning men immediately frowned and glares took upon their faces.

"What'd you say, girl?" hissed the white man, Bryne. They both darted after her, and Mary instinctively ran. However, just as she suspected, they caught her and quickly. She felt one of them grabbing her backpack, tossing her backwards. She fell on it, thankfully, but her food was smashed. They hovered over her, and her green eyes widened in fear, both hands grasping her mound.

"Stop, stop," she panted desperately as she noticed Byrne's nails extending. "Please … don't."

_"Why?"_ he spat impatiently. "You insulted our leader!" Unlike his comrade, the black man grinned wickedly, crossing his arms over his revealed chest.

"She's carryin' more than just food, ya fool. Miss Mary's got herself a baby inside o' her." He knelt down to her height, and Mary could see herself reflected in his black eyes. She glared at him, but remained terrified of his presence. She wished she'd had more courage, like she normally did. After all, she was only facing off a couple of lowlife werewolves who worked for her father, who was no more a lowlife than these two losers. However it was her twins she feared for. One wrong move and she could very well kill them inside of her.

Byrne's eyebrows lifted to his hairline and cackled. "Ooh-hoo! Wait until Mr. Ralluber he's 'bout this, Rocky. He most certainly _won't_ be too keen 'bout this."

Even right in her face Mary could smell them, and it angered her. What was going on? Why couldn't she smell them?

They noticed her struggling to find their scent and each of them chuckled, sporting twisted grins among their faces. Mary became livid.

_"What?"_ she snapped. "What's with the grins?"

"You can't smell us, can you?" chimed Bryne. Mary glared.

"You know why that is, suga'?" inquired Rocky. "It's because you gotten so used ta yo' daddy's scent that it don't even hit you when you come across it."

"That's ridiculous! I've been away for practically a year. How have I gotten used to it?" she asked as she struggled to get back on her feet, but Byrne kicked her back down, his boot colliding with her shoulder with such a force. A burning pain seared through her shoulder and up her neck. She grimaced and snarled at him, but he merely grinned.

"Because you and yo' daddy share the same scent, suga'," Rocky explained. "Yo' daddy thought it wise to shield ourselves with his scent, knew you'd be able to recognize it so well that you wouldn't pick it up. And he sure as hell was right."

"But you," Byrne continued. "You sure done _stink_ of a damn hospital. What'd you do, bathe in rubbin' alcohol?" He chortled to himself. "That's why it was so easy to seek ya out."

"So I suspect your damn leader's going to come out and greet me, huh?" Mary scoffed, folding her arms. "Say hello to his runaway daughter?"

"Insult D. Jay one more time and I'm cuttin' your throat open," snarled Bryne. Mary laughed and shook her head.

"He's my father. I'll insult him if I want. You both are pathetic." She glanced up at Rocky as well. He sneered at her for a brief second before arching an eyebrow.

"But I'm not the one underneath Bryne, now am I? Pregnant teenage werewolf underneath another man? Kinda slutty, don'tcha think? Now _that's _pathetic." Mary glared at him, and her breathing grew heavy. She turned her deadly gaze on the blonde man above her.

"Get. Off. Of. Me," she hissed. Bryne produced a grin as well and grasped her throat, his fingers wrapping around it like snakes. Mary's eyes didn't widen, but instead narrowed further, baring her teeth. He pushed her head against the floor and straddled her.

"Goddamn. Sho' is hard to get over this big belly of yours," he said.

"Get the _fuck_ off of me, you bitch!" she screamed.

"The only bitch here is you, Miss Mary. Besides, what're you so afraid of? You got some experience. Where'd you think that baby came from?" asked Rocky.

"What a naughty girl Ralluber's got. This is what happens to girls who run away from their daddies. Now we gotta punish you." Bryne straightened himself just below her mound and Mary watched in fear him unbuckling his pants. Her heart began to race and she instinctively sat herself up quickly, despite the pain in her shoulder. Rocky's hands grasped her shoulders, crushing them with her fingers and she howled as he pinned her to the ground.

"You gonna follow through with yo punishment, girl, no matter what," he whispered in her ear as she watched with terror and despair Bryne unzipping his pants.

"Please … stop it!" she cried. She wriggled in Rocky's grasped and in between Bryne's legs.

"Oh she _is_ a feisty one, Rock," Bryne laughed.

"I'm _pregnant_. Why the fuck would you do this?" she exclaimed.

"Damn. She got a nasty mouth, too," Rocky said. She watched as they exchanged silent words and literally felt her heart stop beating for a couple of seconds. Their piercing eyes glanced down at her pitiful position and they grinned again.

"You better open wide, sweetheart," Bryne snarled.

Mary began to hyperventilate. No way in hell would she let anyone rape her. She squirmed even harder, trying her hardest to release from their grips. She had to get out this position. She had to get out of this _town_.

_"Get the fuck away from me!"_ she screamed. "Get off! Get off! _Get off!_"

"Shut up, you li'l slut," snarled Rocky, slapping her face. Mary's eyes widened. She began to growl, feeling herself Change. The other werewolves felt it too.

"You ain't Changing now!" Bryne exclaimed. "I ain't even started!"

"And you ain't ever gonna!" Mary growled. Her head whipped from side to side, despite the burning pain in her shoulder, and she began bucking her hips to knock Bryne off of her. He pressed on her mound heavily, and Mary screamed again, more in fear than in pain.

_"Stop it!"_ Bryne hissed. "You're gonna behave right now."

"You better keep your fuckin' dick in yo' pants, Bryne," a deep, husky, hoarse voice said from behind Rocky. Both men turned their heads toward the direction of the voice. Mary's heart beat erratically.

_Oh no, _she thought. _Oh no, oh no, oh no … not … _him!

Mary reluctantly turned her gaze to the figure leaning against the building across the street. He stepped away from it and out of the shadows. Black-as-death eyes pierced through her, and his lips, which were framed with heavy black stubble, were turned into a wicked grin. His brawny build was fitted into a dirty wife beater, ratty red flannel, and old oil-stained jeans which were tucked into his own mountain boots. Black suspenders draped over his shoulders and he crossed his immensely hairy black arms.

She felt like crying. He was right before her, the very man she hated more than anyone in the world. The man who'd killed her mother and who'd beaten Mary ever since Fiona died. She pressed her palms against her belly as she sat up and scooted away from him as Bryne and Rocky dispersed from her.

The man approached Mary so quickly, any human would have thought he'd teleported from one spot to the other. He knelt to her height, tilting her chin up with the crook of his dirty finger, so that her eyes looked directly in his.

"Well, well. Welcome back, Mary," D. Jay said softly with nothing but malice in his tone as his grin widened sickeningly.


	21. Chapter 2O, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Sorry if there are major canon errors regarding the fight between Derek, Simon, and Brady. I haven't read the books in a while and can't exactly remember what happens during that scene. I just remember Simon using his magic to shove Brady away. Anywho, please enjoy el chaptero and review por favor! Gracias. ;D

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**Chapter 2O.**

Lyle House was different after Mary left, but after six months since she'd been gone, it had become normal. Lots of new people came to the group home, joining Brady, Simon, and Derek. The first girl, Victoria (who much rather preferred to be called Tori) Enright, was brattiest girl Derek had ever met. He simply could not stand being around her, and she reminded him a lot of Brady. He knew she'd really annoy Mary as well, since she couldn't stand Brady no more than he could. He'd also realized that Tori acted strangely different around his brother, but Simon remained oblivious to it, or at least he made it seem that way. Derek thought it both hilarious and pathetic that Tori would fall for a guy like Simon, and he really pitied his brother.

The second kid to arrive at Lyle House after Mary's leaving was Elizabeth Delaney—who was called Liz—and she immediately became Tori's best friend, even though their personalities completely clashed. Derek couldn't understand how a nice girl like Liz could ever be friends with the drama queen Tori Enright.

After Liz came Rachelle Rogers, and she went by the nickname Rae. Unlike Liz, Rae did not kick it off with Tori. As a matter of fact, she never did. While Tori complained, Rae snapped at her for being so annoying, and then Tori would bite back with another rude remark. Rae didn't really bother Derek, but when the two of them went at it, he was annoyed with the both of them.

The last kid to come was a boy named Peter Ricci, and he was also the youngest out of the entire house. Even when he arrived he was glued to a Nintendo DS and barely ever met anyone's gaze. During mealtimes, Derek would watch as Peter would rapidly beat his thumbs against the buttons of his game, or sometimes glide the stylus over the touchscreen. He was a quiet kid, so he didn't bother Derek at all.

As the time went by, his memories of Mary began to fade. He never fully forgot about her, but he never thought about her as he often did back when she'd first left. Instead, his thoughts were reserved for his father as he and Simon plotted their breakout. Many times had their plans failed and now they were being inspected fiercer than ever. It was getting more and more difficult to escape.

Dressed in his usual sweatshirt and sweatpants combo, Derek sulked down the stairs, bowing his head so that his dark greasy hair fell over his acne-invaded face. His complexion had gotten ten times worse since Mary's miracle acne cream had run out, but he'd learned not to get embarrassed because of his face; he didn't care what _Tori_ thought about his skin. He could care less about her, period. He toughened himself up even against Brady's rude remarks about how ugly his skin was, or how disgusting his hair looked. Simon had reminded him that none of them knew what he was going through, so they couldn't understand. So, Derek learned not to care.

He passed the living room, where Tori chatted animatedly on the sofa while Liz listened from the floor. By the look on her face, Derek could read the bored and uninteresting expression she struggled to hide, but her mask worked for Tori. When he passed the doorway, both Tori's and Liz's gazes lifted and met his. Tori sneered.

"Oh yuck. Don't you _ever_ take a shower? And how about some Proactiv? God Derek, honestly. You need it," Tori scoffed. Derek rolled his eyes and continued on his way, wondering why he'd even paused in the first place to listen to her. As he left, he could hear Liz whispering in a disappointed tone, _"Tori!"_ because of what her friend had just said.

He met with Simon in the kitchen, who was peeling carrots for tonight's dinner. Simon's blonde hair was spiked, his hair color looking out of place because of his Asian features to anyone who didn't know his complete heritage. His playful eyes turned on him as he grinned his familiar warm grin that he usually reserved for people close to him.

"Sup, bro," he said. Derek nodded his head towards his direction.

"Hey."

"Van Dop put me on freakin' peeling duty. Sucks, especially because I don't have your speed. But I'm almost done. Maybe we could go shoot some hoops after I finish. Hopefully the nurses will let us outside," he rambled. Derek didn't normally tune out to Simon, but as soon as he mentioned the peeling duty, his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to Mary. They hadn't visited her in a long time, but, surprisingly, her face was still vivid, as if it'd been burned in the back of his mind. He remembered how she was always so quick when it came to peeling. He remembered having peeling races with her, seeing who could peel the most potatoes or carrots before the bag ran out.

And then he began to remember how he loved looking at her. He'd forgotten about how beautiful she truly was, that even though she was short and perhaps too developed in the chest area, he thought she was perfect the way she was. He remembered as he'd watch her read a magazine, his eyes would trace her figure and really swallow the depth of her immaculate beauty. He remembered how her bright green eyes glittered in the sun; how her long black hair fell about her back in shorter layers with bangs sweeping her forehead in a diagonal direction; how her full plump lips frequently sported a knowing smirk whenever she knew she was right.

"Derek," Simon called, cutting Derek from his string of memories. "Derek, you alright, bro? You were totally spacin' out on me."

"Sorry," Derek muttered. Simon smirked.

"It's cool. Why don't you help me finish these dang carrots? You're help would be much appreciated, especially because of your speed," Simon chuckled. As Derek approached his side, Simon playfully nudged him and the two of them continued peeling in silence. Derek was surprised at the amount he remembered in just one daydream. All of his memories of Mary just washed over him, flooding his mind to the point where he didn't know if he was living in reality or a dream. Shaking his head, he tried to forget about her. She was gone. They hadn't seen her in six months. She wasn't coming back.

The pair finished peeling the carrots and while Simon ran to ask Mrs. Talbot if he and Derek could go outside, Derek scooped the peelings in the sink into the empty carrot bag. Soon, Mrs. Talbot trotted into the kitchen, Simon following her in step, as she punched in the alarm system code and the sliding door opened.

"You two can only be out for one hour. Bring Brady in when your hour is up," she instructed. Derek's gut twisted at the sound of Brady's name. He realized it hadn't done that in a while, not since Mary was here. He was reminded of how he wanted to be with her, and how he ridiculed Derek about it. He was even reminded of the threat Brady had given the both of them, how he'd known their secret—that they were together—and that they'd better hoped that the nurses wouldn't find out. Derek always had the feeling in his gut that the reason why Mary was gone was because Brady had ratted them out, and for punishment of being together, they would separate them. Even on the slim chance that Brady really didn't tell them, Derek still resented him.

"Come on. We won't even talk to him," Simon muttered as they walked towards the basketball hoop. So far, Brady was nowhere in sight, but Derek could sure smell him around the building. His gut wrenched yet again as Derek sniffed him out to the spot that was somewhat sacred to him. Just by the toolshed Brady was kneeling, digging for worms or some other nonsense, much like a child would do, where Derek had made love to Mary.

Derek shuddered and refocused his head on the game Simon was about to start. He was already dribbling the basketball on the court.

"Ready? How about some HORSE?" Simon suggested. Derek nodded in agreement and tried to ignore the presence of Brady, which was coming near as he became drawn to the sound of the basketball against the concrete.

"What're you two doing out here? Where's your girlfriend, Simon? Tori the Temper Tantrum Queen?" Brady smirked. Simon rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha, Brady. I can't believe how funny you are," Simon said monotonously, his tone dripping in sarcasm. Brady rolled his own eyes.

"It's no secret she digs you," he muttered. "Too bad she isn't hot. None of these girls are."

"That's all you care about, huh? How hot a girl is," Simon snapped. Brady glared.

"What are you trying to say? 'Course I think about how hot a girl is … I'm a _guy_. But you probably wouldn't know about these guy things anyway. Neither of you would. You're a girl, and loom 'n' gloom over here is a monstrous beast. I'm surprised Mary even fell for you anyway. What the hell did she see in you?" Brady spat.

"She loved Derek because she knew he was ten times better than you. Hell, Mary wouldn't screw you any day. Now I bet _you_ got a boner every time you saw her chest," Simon said. Brady glared and sneered at him. Derek's heart pounded and he wished to leave the scene, but Brady wouldn't drop the argument.

_"What did you say?"_ he hissed, shoving Simon forcefully. Simon grunted and Derek widened his eyes. Quickly, he squeezed in between the two and lifted his palms to push Brady right back, but before Derek could even touch him, Brady flew back nearly ten feet, colliding with the wooden fence that surrounded the backyard of the group home. Brady was in shock, and Derek was also surprised. However, he knew better than to believe that was his own doing. He turned beside him and noticed Simon glaring at Brady. Simon had used his magic to shove Brady back.

_"You freak!"_ Brady burst, struggling to stand as he shouted profanities at Derek.

"It wasn't me!" Derek blurted. Brady snarled at him, giving him such a cold look. Even though Derek could care less for him, he was genuinely worried for him. Brady couldn't pick himself up from the ground. He'd known what it was like to seriously injure a kid who had seriously irritated him. He struggled to keep his mind away from the memory of him breaking the spine of a boy who tried to beat up Simon with a couple of other boys at the last school they attended.

But Brady wasn't getting up, and Simon was also looking worried. Brady was moaning in pain now, and it was only a matter of time before Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop ran outside to tend to him, Rae fast on their heels, puzzled and worried. Brady was considered one of Rae's only friends at Lyle House, though Derek couldn't see why.

"What happened?" snapped Miss Van Dop. Brady raised a finger to Derek.

"That bastard … pushed me!" spat Brady. Mrs. Talbot scowled at the foul language, but the two women looked back at Derek with stern expressions, and then began to whisper amongst themselves, but plenty clear enough for Derek to hear.

"Call up Dr. Gill. She'll need to up his doses," Miss Van Dop instructed. Mrs. Talbot nodded in agreement.

"He should be close to Changing, shouldn't he? The modification most likely postponed his Change time," said Mrs. Talbot.

"That, or completely took it away. He may never Change," Miss Van Dop said before glancing at him through the corner of her hawk eyes.

Derek's heart caught in his throat. _Never Change?_ That was impossible, wasn't it? He had to! He was a werewolf. Mary even knew he had to Change.

Mary ….

His thoughts drifted back to the Changing lessons she used to give him and immediately his insides filled with dread. He was constantly reminded that he wouldn't see her again. He'd lost all faith in seeing her.

Derek turned on his heel and pushed passed Simon, darting inside and up to his room. He slammed the door and pressed his forehead against it, his two fists pressing on either side of his head against the door as well. Mary was never coming back … she was never coming back …

Why was he remembering this all of a sudden? She'd slipped his mind long ago.

And then, unconsciously, his hand flew to his chest, grasping the neck of his sweater. Tangled in between his fingers was the gold chain he'd found underneath her bed. The gold chain that carried the heart with the cursive F engraved in it. Fiona's necklace—Mary's mother's necklace.

He'd carried Mary around with him for the past six months and he, for some reason, had never realized it. His eyes closed tightly as he manifested her smiling face in his memory, remembering her large, sparkling green orbs and playful smirk. He could see her laying on her stomach on her bed, a magazine flipped open in front of her. He could see her lying in bed late at night, writhing in agony because of her time of the months and begging him to stay at her side so she could squeeze his hand.

He remembered one night where Simon was sleeping soundly, snoring softly, and Derek was fast in slumber, that is, until he'd felt a soft warm hand press against his bicep. He'd quickly turned on his side, sitting up and staring wildly at her, who was standing before him in her short navy blue pajama shorts and white wife beater. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail high on her head, the tips tickling just between her shoulder blades.

"What are you doing here?" he'd grumbled groggily. She smirked and knelt onto his bed, pressing her palms against his bare chest and tickling his throat with her lips. "Mary …"

"If the nurses find out, who gives a shit? I just want to snuggle with you, nothing more," she promised. Derek couldn't help but snake his arms around her waist. He never passed up a time to be with Mary, even if it did risk their privileges. He slid back underneath his blankets, Mary following suit. As Derek pulled the covers over their entwined bodies, Mary pressed her body against his practically naked one, as he only sported boxer shorts to sleep.

"If we ever get out of here, I can't wait to cuddle with you in a real bed. We'll sleep together every night," she vowed. Derek had chuckled and urged her to sleep. After pressing his lips to her head, he'd fallen into a deep slumber himself.

Then, the memory faded as Derek realized he was blinking back tears, his head still pressed against the door, fingers still clutched the chain. It was the first and last night he'd spent the night with Mary in his bed, and he could remember Simon practically gasping with shock at the sight of them. They'd made sure before the nurses came that Mary was back in her own bed, and he knew Simon would never let him hear the end of it.

Good memories were pouring down the drain as he continued to remind himself that Mary would never come back. Sighing heavily, he realized that he couldn't keep dwelling on Mary, dreaming that he'd see her beautiful face again. Derek couldn't keep living in the past, and he was sick of living with a broken heart because of it. So he pulled off the chain, glancing at the heart charm, seeing a faint projection of Mary's smile in its dull reflection. Then, he put it away so he'd never have to be reminded of Mary again.

And he never was.


	22. Chapter 21, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Wow. This took forever to write. xD Hahaha. I'm trying to balance out my three fanfictions, and since all of them are around the same amount of chapters, then I'm taking turns writing each one. But I think _Everyone's Secret_ is closest to the finish line. This is both a good and bad thing. Hahaha. Okay, well, enjoy the chapter and please review! (x Thaanks a lot! And, again, sorry for the oober late updates. /: At least it's a long chapter. ^-^

* * *

**Chapter 21.**

Staring deeply into his black eyes with such malice, Mary stood with her arms crossed as she stubbornly walked through the door of her old home, followed by Rocky and Byrne to make sure she didn't run away. Mary wanted to run, but she didn't, and it wasn't because of her father's annoying minions, but because there was still some unfinished business she had to attend to.

Mary followed her father into the kitchen, the first room that the front door opened to. The condition was extremely poor, poorer than how she'd left it. Almost all of the furniture was reduced to shredded wood; the appliances were stained black and not working; and the walls and floorboards were torn and broken into, as if many times somebody had punched holes through them. Her eyes were narrowed to slits as they pierced through the back of D. Jay's shaggy black head.

"What have you _done_ to the place?" she sneered. D. Jay turned his head to her and glared.

"You gonna really stand there an' judge a man, Mary? Last time I checked, I was yo' daddy. Ya better give me some respect."

_"Respect?"_ Mary repeated, barking out a humorless laugh. "You're a murderer. You're not getting any respect from me, even if you are my father."

Her bicep was immediately grasped by Rocky's thick fingers as they tightened around it, attempting to cut off her blood circulation. Byrne was snarling beside her, baring his teeth.

"Li'l bitch. Watch yo' mouth," Rocky hissed in her ear.

"Let. Go. Of. Me," Mary snapped.

"Let 'er go, Rock," D. Jay agreed. With one last squeeze, Rocky reluctantly released her.

"Without a woman's touch, how'd you expect me to keep up the house?" D. Jay mused, a slimy smile prancing across his lips. "A perfect reason why you should come back, Mare Bear."

"Shut up," Mary groaned, rolling her eyes. "If you really wanted a woman's touch, you wouldn't have killed Mom. You're vile, you're a terror, and you'll probably kill my kids if I stay here."

D. Jay's eyes glanced briefly to her large mound, but it was long enough for him to produce a nasty snarl.

"I'm having twins," Mary continued, "and I don't plan on raising them in a hellhole like this. And you're not going to be a part of their lives."

His nostrils flared and he exposed his bared teeth as his upper lip twitched. "You can't be a mother. Yo' just a li'l slut. You can't do _anything_," he snapped.

"That's what _you_ think," Mary shot back. "You'd be surprised at what _I_ can do. I can kill you while you stand, _even_ while pregnant."

Both Byrne and Rocky tilted their heads back in obnoxious laughter. D. Jay's smirk returned. Mary's eyes narrowed, the lovely greenness of them twisting with malice.

"Oh really, sweetheart?" Byrne sneered, stroking her cheek. She snapped her teeth at him, almost biting his finger.

"Yeah, _really_," she snapped.

"Let's quit the antics, Mare. A pregnant teen against three advanced werewolves? Ain't likely, right?" D. Jay said.

"Damn straight, boss," Rocky chimed. Mary rolled her eyes.

"You of all people know my strength, D. Jay. You made me that way. You taught me everything. I just had to teach _myself_ to not become someone like _you_. I can look after myself. I can raise two kids. And I most certainly can take on three pathetic werewolf men."

Bryne tugged on Mary's long black hair, pulling her head back. They both snarled at each other.

_"Fuck you, bitch,"_ she hissed.

"You ain't got nothing on us, slut. We'll rip you and yo' babies to shreds. We'll drink yo' body dry of blood. We'll grind yo' flesh with our teeth until they nothin' but mush. And then you'll be sorry you ever doubted us and our strength," Byrne growled. Mary glared at him before spitting on his face. A large white wad of saliva slithered down the inside of the bridge of his nose, rounding his nostril. His face turned beet red and he became outraged. Mary twisted her body and jerked her head away from his hand, patches of hair ripping from her scalp. She howled in pain and gritted her teeth, backing away from the now angry werewolf trio, her hand placed on the spot where her hair had been ripped from.

"You've got a big mouth, hick," Mary spat. "Put your words to the test. We'll see if you've _really_ got the balls to actually kill me and my babies."

Byrne charged for her, Rocky and D. Jay lingering behind to actually watch him murder her. Mary was swift and agile, and, as Byrne extended an open hand, claws out, she ducked and bit him on the arm, her canines sinking deep into his flesh. Byrne howled in agony and Rocky and D. Jay jumped into action. Rocky jerked her head back by pulling her hair, and Mary snarled at him, scratching his face as D. Jay rounded her, kneeing her in the back. She bent backward, moaning, eyes wide as she stared up at her father, his face twisted with disgust.

"You've been a bad girl, Mary," he snarled. A faint smile spread across his lips, mocking him.

"You haven't called me Fiona yet. How long have you been a sober bastard, D. Jay?" Mary taunted. Roaring, he pushed her to the ground and perched a foot on her pregnant belly. Her eyes widened.

"Not so confident now, are you, Mary? Worried for you fucking babies?" he sneered. Mary's heart pounded in her chest, providing more agony than the burning bald spot on the back on her head. And then, to her absolutely horror, D. Jay began to press down on her belly.

_"STOP!"_ she screamed, grasping her belly, tears immediately strolling down her face. "Stop. Please stop," she begged.

"What makes you think I want to stop?" spat D. Jay. "You disrespectful li'l brat."

"Smash them babies in 'er," urged Rocky, rubbing the gash on his face, which was slowly healing. "As if she really needs 'em."

"Crush the bitch while you're at it," added Byrne.

Mary's green eyes were wide and bright as she stared up at her father, silently pleading for his mercy, despite her hatred for him. Why should her children be brought into this, she thought. She began to mentally curse herself for not running when she had the chance.

"I've got no reason to not kill them, ya know," D. Jay said to her, narrowing his eyes and rubbing the stubble on his jaw. "All it would take is a heavy stomp and they'd be gone." The tears rushed faster down Mary's face. D. Jay noticed them. "Now why're you cryin', girl?"

"Don't do this to me, Daddy," she wept, shaking her head. "I'm just so angry. I get it from you, and you know it. Everything is so stressful. I'm on the run from a group of scientists that want to experiment on me, I'm a pregnant teen, and I have to deal with all the chaos you've made in my life. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to your grandchildren."

D. Jay's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at his crying daughter. Rocky and Byrne snarled beside him.

"What're ya doin' Jay? Just kill the damn kids!"

"Kill 'em both! You hate all o' them!"

"Will you two just shut the hell up?" D. Jay barked at the two men. He turned back to Mary. "This is my daughter after all."

"What the hell are you talkin' about? You were ready to beat her to a pulp just five minutes ago!" exclaimed Byrne.

"What? Just because o' some sappy words from her yo' gonna back out and be a pussy?" Rocky sneered. D. Jay reeled on him, stepping away from Mary. Her breath returned to her and she began to breathe at a normal pace. She slowly stood as Byrne's and D. Jay's focus remained glued on Rocky. D. Jay began to back Rocky towards a wall, threatening him.

Wiping her tears, Mary crept behind the trio. Her false sorrow had worked on her father and saved her babies. She glared at the thought of forgiving her father and pleading for mercy. Mary wasn't weak. She fought for what she wanted, and used deceiving to help her.

Very quickly and quietly, she approached Byrne from behind. She could hear him sniff out her scent and, before he could say anything, clapped her hand over his mouth and dug her claws into his throat, tearing the flesh off. The scent of his blood immediately made the others turn around. Byrne moaned and choked as he crumbled to the floor, blood pouring profusely from his throat and his mouth.

"Mary …" D. Jay said slowly.

"Byrne's … Byrne's …" Rocky stammered. Byrne gasped violently before he fell still, blood pooling around him.

"He's dead," Mary finished bluntly, a grin appearing on her face. She raised her fingers, dark shiny crimson with his thick blood. "Who's next?"

_"You killed Byrne, you bitch!"_ Rocky screeched, darting towards her. He Changed into a large dark brown wolf and jumped towards her, but Mary quickly moved out of the way. D. Jay grabbed a hold of her arm to keep her in place.

"You lied to me, didn't you?" he snarled. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Of course I did, you moron," she scoffed. D. Jay roared and Rocky pounced on her, almost pinning her to the ground. She rolled away, wary of her mound, and moved into the kitchen. Broken wood splintered the ground. She felt for a large enough stake to pierce him with as he neared her quickly. Her fingers wrapped around a sharp plank of wood and stabbed him with it just in time. Rocky backed away, whining with pain. The wood stuck out from his breast, and sunk even further in as he accidentally fell on it when his legs buckled beneath him. One more howl and he was passed out.

D. Jay didn't have time to mourn for his lost minion. Instead he ran towards Mary, eyes wide and black with malice, teeth bared, claws extended. She could see him ready to go through the Change. Black hair began to sprout on his face and neck.

"How dare you, Mary. How _dare_ you!" he roared.

"What's the matter? This is what _you_ wanted me to become: a killer," Mary sneered as she squared off with him. She felt the werewolf genes inside of her thrum in her veins, begging to be released, begging to Change.

"You've gone too far," he said. "I didn't want ya to go on and kill yo' people, Mary. You're a traitor. One thing 'bout us werewolves I _know_ I've taught you; _don't betray your pack._"

"I don't have a pack," Mary snarled. "I'm on my own."

She ran after him, her claws still extended. D. Jay roared and caught his own claws on her cheek, scraping the skin off. She grunted and elbowed him in the gut, grasping onto his shoulders so quickly and kneeing him in the groin. Suddenly, everything appeared to be a déjà vu moment. This had happened when she'd left. She'd fought D. Jay before she ran. However, this time she wasn't going to leave him alive.

Suddenly, they both stopped in their tracks as an unwanted scent cut through the area. D. Jay's nose perked up, sniffing the air and cringing.

"No …" Mary whispered. "I thought I lost them."

"_You_ brought them here?" hissed D. Jay. "They smell sterile."

"I told you I was on the run," she said, and then, she suddenly hatched an idea, a way to get the Edison Group off of her tail. She backed away from her father, heading for a broken window.

"You want them to see you?" D. Jay scoffed. Mary shook her head.

"No. I want them to see _you_." And then she howled as loud as she could, and, from a distance, she could see a group of armed men and a couple of black Jeeps heading her direction, their distant shouts echoing.

"You heartless bitch," D. Jay seethed. "You'd sell yo' own father to a group o' scientists." He didn't even ask it in a question. It was a statement. He knew she would.

"You've never been a father to me," Mary said. "Why would it even bother me?" D. Jay glared at her and growled.

"You li'l brat. I'll kill you where you stand." Mary opened her arms.

"Well then, let's see," she challenged. D. Jay roared and ran towards her. Mary swung a fist at his face, but D. Jay caught it in the air and threw his own fist. Mary ducked and kneed him in the groin again. D. Jay groaned and Mary punched him in the face, throwing him to the ground. She continuously jammed her heel into his most vulnerable area, and D. Jay cried out in utter agony. Mary stepped back, watching him roll around on the floor, groaning in pain.

"Shut up," she snapped and walked towards the piles of wood to grab another plank.

"Mary," D. Jay pleaded. "Don't. I'm … your … father." His voice was raspy now, gasping from the pain his groin emitted. His hands were cupped over his pants as he curled his legs up like a baby. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Wow, I'm disappointed," sighed Mary. "As Alpha of the pack in Montana, I'd think you were stronger than that. I always knew you were pathetic." She reached down to grasp a plank of wood and ran her hand against the splintered edge gently. "I guess I won't kill you after all. I'd rather you get caught by them so you can go through the trouble I went through. Only fair, right? Since, after all, you made my life a living hell. Besides, they just want to experiment on you. Have fun with the Edison Group, D. Jay." She lifted the stake over her head and gutted her father, pushing the stake through his belly. He cried out in anguish and his breath became unsteady.

"That's for Mom," she murmured as she stepped over him. She walked towards Rocky, whose wolf form was still out cold from the pain he suffered. Holding his large head between her hands, she jerked it to the side, a deafening crack sounding in the air, and let him fall limp on the ground. She just had to be sure he wouldn't be getting up either.

Mary walked towards the door to grab her backpack. The scent of the Edison Group was drawing near. Even as a werewolf, D. Jay wouldn't have any time to get out of here. She calmly crossed the room, no trace of emotion spread across her face. She stopped at the archway that led towards the stairs and the hallway before sighing heavily and slightly turning her head to look over her shoulder.

"It didn't have to be this way," she whispered, but she knew D. Jay could hear her anyway. "You didn't have to kill her. She didn't overreact; she acted like any human would. You've always been coldhearted, but when you killed her, I believe you killed a piece of yourself too. You probably could have been a good dad. But that's a big probably. I could be so wrong." She bowed her head. "But it doesn't matter now. What's done is done." Mary turned her head and walked down the hallway towards the backdoor. And as she reached it, she smelled salty water faintly, and the tears didn't belong to her. They belonged to her father.


	23. Chapter 22, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ Bladijfapodjfasdfew. Nothing to say, really. dX Haha, enjoy the chappie and review please. Thank you, dearies. (8

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**Chapter 22.**

Mary didn't know where she going, but she ran away from that house. Her scent was all over house, but the doctors didn't know that. Besides, they had D. Jay to pick from, and if he was still alive they'd take him with them. Mary thought sarcastically how much he'd like that.

Her primary goal was to get away from the Edison Group, to make sure she and her babies were in safe distance from them. After a couple of nights of running, she'd settled down in a vast crowd of trees. She could feel her blood discharge from between her legs and soak into her spandex pants. She sat against a tree and cringe, the sensation revolting her. Luckily for her, she had extra clothes. She'd change as soon as she found a river.

The more she wandered into the forest, the stranger the scent of the woods smelled to her. After she mulled the scent over, wondering what could be causing it, she stopped in her tracks. She realized where the scent was coming from.

Mary was in the middle of her father's wolf pack's territory.

She cursed herself for being so stupid and naïve.

_Shit. Safe my ass,_ she growled mentally.

She sighed heavily to calm herself. The last thing her babies needed was her stress. She wasn't dumb enough to think she could take on an entire pack of werewolves, but perhaps she could talk through to them. Make them leave her alone, pass without difficulty.

She heard rustling quickly and Mary shut her eyes, dreading when they'd arrive. The other werewolves had caught her sent. They wouldn't do anything without D. Jay, though.

Suddenly, an idea hatched in her mind. She didn't like it, but it would work.

"Who are you?" snarled a deep voice, chiming through the growls that immediately erupted. Mary opened her bright green eyes to see herself surrounded by all male werewolves, each brawny in size and sporting the outfits similar to what her father used to don—jeans, mountain boots, flannels, and old wife beaters.

"You can't tell by looking at my face?" Mary asked, turning to the owner of the voice. He was a large man, towering over her by perhaps more than a foot. He was tanned and blonde-haired, thick sideburns reaching his jawline. His eyes were dark blue and narrowed, as his arms folded over his chest, exposed from his open flannel. The man stared at her, studying her face. The other werewolves did the same.

"Her scent is awfully familiar," another werewolf chimed, one not so large as the first, but by far bigger than Mary. He, too, was tanned, but his hair was black with bright blue eyes instead. There was a slight accent in his voice, and judging by where she'd been, she wondered if this werewolf had come from Canada.

"But there's a damn strong sterile scent. She bathin' in rubbin' alcohol?" another said, but Mary didn't see where the voice had come from. Instead, her eyes were rested on the big blonde werewolf in front of her. His face was deep in concentration, still studying her.

"You're still having trouble?" she teased. He glared.

"I know who you are. Haven't seen you in years, though. Damn crazy how much you've grown," he responded. Mary's eyebrows knitted together.

"We've _met_?" He nodded.

"You was just a tyke when we met; I wouldn' expect ya to remember," he said. "In fact, you met the entire pack. They haven' recognized you yet, but they will."

"D. Jay brought me to meet you guys when I was a _baby_?" she asked, almost mortified. How could her father have been so stupid? Though they were under his command, _something_ could have happened to her. What if one of them had seriously injured her when he wasn't looking? Her hatred grew even more.

"'Course he did. Wanted you to be just as great a werewolf as we are." Mary rolled her eyes. "Looks like he succeeded too." He sniffed the air and Mary realized that she still had blood smeared on her hands and her shirt from ripping Byrne's throat out. The werewolves around her began to growl again.

"That smells like Byrne."

"_She_ killed Byrne?"

"She's pregnant! She ain't strong 'nough to kill a guy like 'im."

"Byrne ain't the only one you killed, huh?" the blonde asked, stepping towards her. Mary bared her teeth. "We sent Byrne and Rocky out. D. Jay was gonna meet them. None o' them are back, and they ain't pussy enough to run away, 'specially not our boss." A hiss of agreement circled them. "So who else you killed?"

"I killed that pervert, Byrne. Why not? He tried to _rape_ me. Hell, I'm already pregnant. I don't want any other guy sticking their thing near me!" she exclaimed. Shocked murmurs hissed in the crowd, but the blonde's eyes remained narrowed. "And Rocky? Hell, he was going to kill me anyway. Why not kill him too? I didn't leave D. Jay dead, I know. I left him to the scientists that were following me. He and the both of them are probably on their way back to Canada now to experiment. Hopefully I've gotten them off of my tail."

The whispers turned into outrages from the werewolves, exclaiming that their leader was being dragged away by scientists. The blonde snarled at her, baring his jagged teeth. Mary grinned at them wickedly. She wasn't proud that she'd killed two men, but the fact that they wouldn't be bothering her anymore made her feel better. Besides, she knew they were up to no good.

"D. Jay's gone," Mary boomed over the loud chatter. "And, in case you dipsticks didn't get it the first time, _I'm_ D. Jay's daughter. _Don't you know by my face?_ Surely you knew my mother." She turned three hundred sixty degrees, eyeing each one of those werewolves. She breathed heavily before continuing. "So do you know what this means? Since _I'm_ his daughter and _he's_ gone, all of _you_ are under my leadership now. _I_ am the alpha of this pack." She turned back to the blonde man, whose face was twisted with both disgust and surprise. Mary arched an eyebrow. "So what are you going to do about it?"

The blonde closed his eyes briefly, cupping his forehead with his hand. He sighed loudly and withdrew his hand. "She's right," he announced. "This is Mary Ralluber. Ya'll have met her, when she was a kid. If D. Jay is gone, then Mary, by lineage, becomes the next alpha." He glared down at her. "What do expect us to do now, Miss Mary?"

A grin plastered on her face and she crossed her arms. She'd gotten her way. She was now responsible for an entire pack of wolves—the sole wolf pack in all of Montana—but now she was the puppeteer, and she controlled _them_.

"I need a place to stay," she said, dropping the grin and putting on a firmer face. She refused to raise her children in the wild. Though they would be pureblooded werewolves, she thought it inhumane to be raised in a forest. They were _werewolves_, not regular wolves. "I'm going into my seventh month of pregnancy. Obviously I'll be going into labor soon. I refuse to raise my kids in a forest."

"Kids?" said the Canadian. "You're havin' more than one?"

"Yeah. Twins," she said, placing a hand on top of her mound.

"She can stay wit' me," he said to the blonde. The blonde werewolf nodded.

"Alright. Fine. Miss Mary'll stay wit' Izaack." He tilted his head towards the Canadian so Mary knew who he was talking about.

"Thanks," she muttered. Izaack nodded, black hair falling in his face. He was a nice-looking man, perhaps the nicest out of the rest of the pack. He was perhaps in his late twenties, for his features were quite young. However, since he was young, Mary had to be sure he didn't pull any creepy and lecherous moves. She was their alpha now. She could take on anyone.

"Alrigh'. So it's settled. Miss Mary has become our new alpha. Since you don't know nothin' 'bout wolf packs, I'll say this: we here are a family. We look out for each other, got each other's backs, and so forth. Perhaps it best to be reacquainted with yo' new family," the blonde said, his thick Montana accent leaking through his words. "I'm Eddie, by the way. In case you didn't remember."

"I didn't," Mary admitted. Eddie rolled his eyes.

"And, listen; we still ain't okay with you killin' our former alpha. D. Jay was strong and powerful, and he watched our backs. You killin' packmates ain't gonna happen no more, ya hear?" he scolded. Mary glared.

"I didn't kill my dad," she corrected. "And I only killed the others because they were almost as vile as my dad. D. Jay was _not_ a great person; I don't know how you could have looked up to him. But those other guys were just downright pathetic. That Byrne guy wanted to freaking _rape_ me for running away from my home. Just so _you_ all know"—she glared at all of the werewolves around her—"if I'm going to be your alpha, I'm demanding respect. One thing I do know about wolf packs is that you guys owe me my respect, no matter what I do. _I_ am your alpha. I am _not_ your bitch. I am not your mom. I am your leader, and you'll do as_ I_ say. You hear?" They remained quiet, and they glared right back at her. Mary's blood boiled as they disobeyed her. "I said, _do you hear_?"

Her booming voice startled the grown men, but they continued to glare. However, in addition, they howled their agreement, and their approval of Mary as their new alpha.


	24. Chapter 23, Mary

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_ D'aww. I hate to say it, but this is the second to the last chapter of the story. /: Wow. I felt so attached to this fic, I can't believe it's ending! You all have been great readers and I've enjoyed your reviews so greatly. (8 Thanks so much for keeping with Mary and Derek from the start to finish. Stay tuned for the epilogue coming soon. Enjoy the chapter and please review! Thank you! :D

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**Chapter 23.**

Izaack's house was a small, one-story, two bedroom house with creaky, rotting stairs leading up to a creaky, rotting door. The inside was slightly better than the out, which wasn't saying much. The blue paint was peeling off of the wooden walls and faded from time. Inside, the wallpaper was also peeling, and the furniture was old and abused. Izaack scratched the back of his head, blushes of red appearing through his tanned cheeks.

"Sorry 'bout the place," he muttered. Mary looked about the first room, a family room, it appeared to be. A torn, pale green sofa was cast off to one side of the room, a small television set placed in front of it on the floor. An empty bookshelf that had collected thick layers of dust was placed on the other side of the room. The grey shag carpet was dark from dirt and blood. A few lamps were scattered about and an archway led to the next room.

"Wow. Clean much?" she said sarcastically. Izaack glared at her, but remained quiet. She could tell he really wanted to snap something rude at her, but bit back on his tongue. In a way, she appreciated it and decided to keep the snide remarks to herself, even though the house really was a dreadful mess.

"Okay, okay," she said. "I'm sorry. I really should be thanking you for letting me stay to raise my kids. I mean, it's really nice of you to do that. Especially because I'm an ignorant pregnant teenager."

Her apology brought a small smile to Izaack's face as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, his boots padding against the floor as he led her through the archway.

"It's fine. I'm hardly here anyway, so it ain't gonna be that awkward, I hope," he said. Mary looked around the room again before leaving through the archway. So that was why the house was a disaster. Izaack was never home to care for it. If she was going to live here, she was going to have to do a lot of work to it. If she wasn't going to raise her kids in a forest, then she definitely wasn't going to raise them in a run-down home.

Izaack took her through the kitchen, which was just as bad with rusty appliances and stale crumbs and spider webs in every nook and cranny. From the kitchen he led her to his bedroom, which was practically empty. They passed the extra bedroom, the walls stained with red smears. Mary's stomach churned when she saw that. Izaack turned and noticed her looking in the room. His eyes widened and he quickly shut the door.

"You don't need to look in there," he said. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"What exactly do you do in there?" she asked. He stopped and turned around.

"Listen. You're allowed to stay here, but you ain't allowed to go into that room. It's off limits, ya hear?" he said sternly. Mary's eyes narrowed.

"Last time I checked, _I_ was your new alpha. You do know what that means, right? You don't keep anything from me, and you do as I tell you." She looked him hard in the eye, despite her miniscule height and youthful age. Truthfully, the power over the older males fascinated Mary. She was but sixteen, and yet she was the puppeteer of a pack of twenty- and thirty-year-olds.

She could see in Izaack's face him giving in, realizing she was right. He sighed heavily and, with a glare plastered on his face, he told her.

"Ya wanna know? Honestly, by the look on yo' face when you saw the room, you're not gonna wanna know." Mary pursed her lips and crossed her arms, giving him a look that said she didn't care, but really, deep inside, she did. "That room is where I killed them."

Mary's heart sank. She gulped and sighed heavily before asking, "Killed who?"

"The pretty women," he said grimly. "The women I seduced. The women I ate."

Instantly, her mind flipped through the memories of her mother and her murder. Her father stood in her mind, gazing at her with his black eyes, only donning dark torn jeans, stained with blood, just as his hands, his chest, and his face was.

Her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing became unsteady.

"I knew you'd think about her." Izaack's Canadian voice sliced through her thoughts. "It's why I didn't want to tell you. You'd think of Fiona."

"Why?" Mary whispered. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm a werewolf," he answered. "I did it, Eddie did it, Byrne and Rocky did it … your father was our leader—thus, he did too." Mary glared at him, tears stinging her eyes.

"I don't think I can stay here," she said, turning on her heel and wiping her eyes.

"You're not gonna find any place else, ya know," Izaack mentioned as Mary crossed the kitchen. She ignored him and walked further through the house, trying to ignore the bloodstains on the carpet as she crossed the family room. When she reached the door, she paused, her fingers grasping the dull doorknob. Mary did need a place to stay. She couldn't go to a shelter because neither she nor her babies were human, and the wardens would soon realize that once they were born and growing.

"I was gonna give you my room, so you wouldn't have to look at the stains," said Izaack from behind. "If you wanna leave, then fine. Just lettin' you know, again; you're gonna have a hard time finding somewhere else to stay. The other werewolves aren't as generous as I am."

Squeezing her eyes shut and wrapping her fingers tightly around the knob, Mary sighed again. She had to do what was best for her babies. Izaack was providing a home for her, which, with time, could be cleaned nicely and become a good environment for them.

"Alright," she said finely, letting go of the knob and turning to meet his gaze. His handsome eyes were narrowed, but were drenched in worry for her. He didn't want her out in the wild alone with twins on the way. "But the killing has got to stop. I don't care if you're a werewolf. I'm just as much werewolf as you all are, and I'm perfectly sufficient without killing _anyone_. From now on, as your new alpha, I forbid you to kill anyone, unless they are putting your life in danger."

Izaack pursed his lips together but nodded. "Alright. That seems fair."

"Right," Mary said with a sigh before looking about the family room. "Now, as I said before, this house really needs a cleaning. I'm not raising my kids up in a dump like this. Let's get this house straight. It really needs a woman's touch."

* * *

A couple months later, the house was looking immaculate. Izaack had bought some paints to redo the walls on both the outside and inside of the house. Mary helped with the painting while he tore out the carpet and replaced it himself with nice new shag carpet. The furniture wasn't replaced, but it was cleaned and vacuumed to rid of all of the dirt and dust. They did the same for the kitchen too, bleaching the rust on the appliances and vacuuming the cobwebs and crumbs spilt about the place. Izaack invested in some new beds and a crib for the twins. Now nine months pregnant, Mary was ready to give birth at any day.

Mary was really succeeding in her role of alpha female of the werewolf pack. It took the wolf men some getting used to, but they soon truly accepted her, even if she was still a teenager. They began to remember meeting her when she was a baby, and would tell her stories they slowly regained from their memory about her and the wolves.

Izaack was a great supporter of Mary. He helped her throughout the rest of her pregnancy like a true friend. He told her that he knew he was the only one who didn't agree with D. Jay's ruling, but he never questioned him, out of fear for his life. A werewolf was truly unintelligent if he questioned his alpha, he told her.

"But I have faith in you, Miss Mary," he said to her as they sat together on the sofa in the now-clean family room. She was taking up most of the couch, outstretching her short legs and leaning her back against the arm of the sofa, her hands resting on top of her mound. Izaack was pressed against the other side of the sofa, his arm resting on the arm with his fist holding his head up. He grinned at her. "I have faith that you're gonna impress us and do us well."

"Even if I am a pregnant seventeen year old?" she asked. He chuckled.

"Even so."

After Mary's seventeenth birthday had passed, she suddenly began to really remember Derek. She'd never fully forgotten him—after all, how could she while she carried his twins?—but her birthday really sparked something in her that made her remember him. She began to remember his indifferent façade, his curiosity, how his eyes would always trace her figure, even when he didn't want to realize he liked her. Mary had always held some sort of feelings for him, even when they first met and got off to that bad start. Maybe it was because he was a werewolf and she'd found another kid her kind. Maybe it was because deep down she knew something would happen, almost like a premonition that sparked in her heart. She missed cuddling with him in his bed. She missed his arms around her waist. She missed his hesitant and nervous lips against her strong, confident ones. She missed the feel of his hands, the grazing of his fingers, the twinkle in his gentle green eyes. She missed _him_.

She'd begin to cry that day she turned seventeen. It was the first time in a long time that she cried because of him. She knew she'd never see him again. After losing the Edison Group, she'd be foolish to want to go back to Lyle House to see if he were still there.

She wondered if he'd escaped the group home to find his dad, along with Simon, his foster brother. She wondered if he'd ever gone through his Change. Had he listened to all the advice she'd given him? She wondered if he'd actually found his dad. Were they living off somewhere nice, finally at peace with his family? Had he found love again in someone new? Had he kissed her, touched her, _loved_ her, the way he had her?

Mary knew things could have been worse for her, but instead, fortune decided to play in her favor and finally get rid of D. Jay and the Edison Group. Fortune had given her her new family, her wolf pack. Fortune had given her a stable house with an amazing friend. But fortune had not brought Derek back to her, and she knew it never would.

* * *

The pain was long and excruciating, and Mary was wishing herself just dead at the moment. Her vision was blurred as beads of sweat rapidly rolled down her face, soaking in her hairline before making their trails on her skin. Izaack's handsome face was almost vanishing as she squinted her eyes, gritting her teeth and groaning.

Eddie pressed a wet rag against her forehead and hushed soothing words to her as Izaack pressed a hand on one of her raised knees, encouraging her to try harder. Other members of her werewolf pack were standing outside, anticipating the delivery.

"Come on, Mary!" Izaack exclaimed. "You can do it! You're almost there!" Mary moaned in agony, but her moans were shortened by the wail of a newborn baby. Eddie exclaimed, laughing with joy. Mary struggled to focus her vision on the baby in Izaack's arms. Her heart pounded with joy and fear. One down, one to go.

"We ain't done yet, Miss Mary," Eddie said and nodded for Izaack to continue his encouraging. Eddie was handed the baby to, hands bloodied but not minding, as he shushed both the baby and Mary at the same time. Once again, her crying moans echoed through the household, bouncing off the walls of her small room and traveling down the hall.

"Come on, Mary!" Izaack said again. "There's the head—I can see the head! Just keep pushing!"

Mary bellowed an ear-piercing scream and immediately fell silent after the final push. Relief washed over her as the sound of yet another crying baby echoed through her ears.

"Well, well," Izaack mused. "Looks like you're gonna have yo'self a handful, Miss Mary. Two baby boys. How 'bout that."

Mary chuckled, breathing heavily. The chuckle was barely audible. She was so out of breath, she couldn't move any of her limbs. Her body was slowly beginning to function correctly again as Izaack moved away from in between her legs, draping a sheet over her knees. Her head lolled from side to side, unsure of whether which baby she wanted to look at first. But instead, her eyes slowly closed shut as her body began to shut down.


	25. Epilogue, Derek

_**Darkest Powers fanfiction  
EVERYONE'S SECRET  
**_**Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber**

**

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**_Author's Note:_ Wow. I finished _Everyone's Secret_ ... Oh gosh. Waaah! I can't even believe I ended this! Thank you for reading and reviewing and staying with Derek and Mary. All of you guys were great and I appreciate you reading this. (8 Enjoy the epilogue of _Everyone's Secret_, and please review. (: Thank you! :D

* * *

**Epilogue.**

The sunrise was the most beautiful thing Derek had seen that morning, next to Chloe, of course. But Chloe wasn't a thing, so he didn't think she actually counted. The sky was an endless color of orange, pink, and yellow, as the sun rose from the treetops in the distance. He sighed as he tilted his head back to follow the colors. Suddenly, he felt a pair of lips gently press against his cheek.

Derek turned and looked down to see his little Chloe Saunders, the Necromancer he had met at Lyle House and had immediately fallen in love with. She was petite with strawberry blonde hair and large eyes he found so adorable. Derek wasn't one for sappy romance, but whenever he was around her he sure did feel like a sap. All of the history they shared helped him not to care about feeling sappy about Chloe, though. The love he had for her sufficed.

"What was that for?" he asked her as she grabbed a hold of his arm and holding it against her, pressing her body against the side of his. She sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Because you looked so peaceful. Since when is the mind of Derek Souza everat peace?" she teased. "So I thought I'd seize the moment."

Derek chuckled and pressed her head against his chest, combing his fingers through her jaw-length hair. It had been three years since they'd escaped from the Edison Group and found his and Simon's father. They stayed on the run for a few months after that before they decided to build their own home, making room for Chloe, her aunt Dr. Lauren Fellows, and apparently Simon's newfound half-sister Tori Enright. It was a nice cabin home, just on the edge of the province, Alberta, in Canada.

"You bring peace to my mind," he whispered, and Chloe grasped the front of his dark sleep shirt, embracing him with her thin arms. He wrapped his own thick arms around her frail body and held her lovingly. He felt so at peace, so calm, so relaxed with Chloe in his arms.

"Derek …" she whispered before shutting her own eyes and pursing her lips.

Their moment lasted a while longer until Derek's nose picked up a couple of odd scents drifting through the air, and they were nearing them as time progressed. Derek's eyebrows knitted together, confused of the scent. He figured it just a stray dog, or a wolf even, since they were near the forest, but he very well knew the scents of canines. This scent smelled as if it wanted to be canine, but wasn't completely.

A scent that could only belong to a werewolf.

Heart racing, he maneuvered Chloe behind him as he inched further towards the scent, trying to sniff it out. Chloe's eyebrows narrowed.

"Derek? What is it?" she asked, clinging to his elbow. He raised his hand to silent her, and she immediately fell quiet.

This was strange. They had been living here for three years, and not once had he ever smelled the scent of a werewolf, let alone more than one. He was just about to tell Chloe to go back into the cabin behind them when a voice echoed through the trees, causing his entire internal system to shut down in his body, jaw slightly hanging open.

"Ethan! Don't stray too far from me!" she called in distress. "Mattie—Mathew! Come back here!"

Derek gulped as his eyes began to gradually widen. Chloe's eyebrows remained knitted together.

"Who is that?" she whispered.

But Derek ignored her. His mind was completely transfixed on the voice as every memory and moment crashed into his thoughts. That beautiful girl he had met years ago … long, black hair; the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen; miniscule height but attaining such a curvaceous bodice … What had been her name? That girl … that she-wolf … What had been her name?

Two small boys immediately ran out into the clearing a few hundred yards from Chloe and him, and he could see their faces clearly. They were darling boys, perhaps either two or three years of age, and they were identical. Black shaggy hair topped their heads, and their eyes glistened like bright emerald gems. Each wore a wide smile as they giggled like crazed children.

A woman stumbled out after them, her face flustered and slightly irritated. Her body was petite, but her form was quite curvy. Glossy black hair was sliced just below her jaw, tickling her neck. Her full lips were pulled into a frown, and the identical green eyes as the two small boys were narrowed.

Her body stilled when she finally caught a hold of her two rambunctious boys. Derek feared to see the full front of her face, to fully absorb her features, yet he longed for it all at once.

_What was her name …_ he continued to think. _What was her name?_

The woman shut her eyes and a breeze blew past them, the both of them fully grasping the others off scent. She opened her jade gems and turned his way, and Derek felt his breath catch in her throat.

_Mary …_ _Her name was Mary._

Derek struggled to tear his gaze away from her, but when he succeeded, his gaze involuntarily fell to the two boys whose hands she held. They were fussy and tugged at their arms to release them from their mother's grasp. When he really focused on the two boys, Derek could feel his stomach churn.

They had his face. Both boys looked exactly like Derek. How was that even possible? Mary had never been pregnant while at Lyle House.

But what if she hadn't known? He did remember that night out by the toolshed outside of the group home. What if that one and only time was what brought these children into existence?

Derek was feeling sick. He couldn't have _really_ gotten a girl pregnant. Those two toddler boys couldn't _really_ be his own kin. Though they were werewolves as well and looked so much like him—mind the green eyes they'd inherited from Mary—they couldn't really be his.

But when Derek's eyes met Mary's again, he read the utter sadness that swam in their vast color. And when he saw her sadness, he knew he fathered them. Those two baby boys were his.

He stared at Mary in disbelief, completely in the dark about her pregnancy, about these boys. Her eyes darted from him to Chloe, who poked out from behind him like a small child, and when they met Derek's green eyes again, she smiled the saddest smile he'd ever seen, which made his body cringe again.

After smiling at him one last time, she whispered to her children that it was time to go home. She finally turned her back on him, which struck Derek the hardest. Now he'd never see her face again. The boys simultaneously looked over their shoulders back at him, as if they knew Derek was their father, and then continued to struggle from Mary's grasp. They complained unintelligibly and begged to be lifted. Sighing, Mary gave in and wrapped her arms around their bodies, cradling them on either of her hips. She disappeared into the trees.

"Derek?" Chloe said softly. He bit his bottom lip and realized tears were falling from his face. "Derek, who was she?"

"Her name is Mary," he said, "and we shared a secret that became everyone's secret."


End file.
